Indonesia Investments has updated the company profile of Tambang Batubara Bukit Asam. This state controlled company is one of the largest coal mining companies in Indonesia and has vast coal mines in South Sumatra, West Sumatra and East Kalimantan. The company feels the impact of global economic turmoil as can be seen from the 44.2 percent fall in net income over the first six months of 2013 compared to the same period in 2012. A weakening coal price in combination with higher costs of sales were the underlying reasons. 

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PT Indo Tambangraya Megah Tbk (ITMG) is one of the leading coal producing companies in Indonesia. The company's main businesses include integrated coal mining, coal processing and operational logistics. The mining locations of Indo Tambangraya Megah are spread across six concession areas, all of which are currently operational and productive. Four concession areas are located in East Kalimantan, one in South Kalimantan, and the other one in both East and Central Kalimantan.

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In order to increase government revenues, the Indonesian government announced that, starting from 2014, coal miners that have a Mining Business License (Izin Usaha Pertambangan/IUP) will have to pay a higher royalty fee to the central government. The decision was made during a meeting between the government and Commission XI of the House of Representatives (DPR) this week. The new royalty policy, which was originally planned to be introduced this year, is expected to result in an increase of IDR 4 trillion (USD $408.2 million) in state revenues.

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Indonesia's coal production is projected to increase 4.4 percent to 400 million tons this year, up from the government's initial forecast of 390 million tons. According to Bob Kamandanu, chairman of the Indonesian Coal Mining Association (Asosiasi Pertambangan Batubara Indonesia, APBI), this growth will be spurred by increased demand from Japan, South Korea, Thailand and Taiwan in June. The coal price is expected to increase accordingly in the middle of the year.

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Declining profit in Indonesia's coal industry was also confirmed by Adaro Energy's (ADRO) net profit of 2012. The coal mining company reported net profit of US $385.34 million, a 30 percent fall compared to 2011 when it amounted US $550.35 million. Earnings per share also declined from US $0,01721 in 2011 to US $0,01205 in 2012. Lower sales volume and lower global coal prices were cited as the major factors behind the decline.

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Many Indonesian coal miners that are listed on the Indonesia Stock Exchange (IDX) have seen their shares surge in the past couple of months supported by the recovering coal prices. Indonesia's thermal coal price (in Indonesian: Harga Batubara Acuan, abbreviated HBA), a monthly price set by Indonesia's Energy and Mineral Resource Ministry and which is based on domestic and global coal prices, soared from USD $50.92 per metric ton in February 2016 to USD $63.93 per ton in September.

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Domestic coal consumption in Indonesia rose 34.5 percent (y/y) to 24.5 million tons in the January-April 2016 period, according to data from Indonesia's Energy and Mineral Resources Ministry. This growth is caused by higher domestic coal demand due to Indonesia's ambitious 35,000 MW program (many of the power plants constructed in this program are coal-fired). Meanwhile, Indonesia's coal exports were down 14 percent (y/y) to 68 million metric tons over the same period amid sluggish global demand.

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Coal production in Indonesia fell 15.4 percent to 263 million tons in the first eight months of 2015 (from 311 million tons in the same period last year) as Indonesian coal miners cut production due to low global coal demand. Last week it was reported that Indonesia’s reference thermal coal price hit another all-time low at USD $58.21 per metric ton (FOB), down 1.6 percent from the August reference rate, and the fifth consecutive month of decline. Meanwhile, Indonesia’s coal exports fell 18 percent to 211 million tons (y/y) in the January-August period.

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In the 2000s many Indonesian companies diversified their business to include coal mining (or shifting their core business to coal mining altogether) due to lucrative opportunities amid the 2000s commodities boom. However, since 2009 mining companies have had to face tough times. Especially since 2011 commodity prices have shown a declining trend and there remains little hope of a rebound on the short term as the sluggish global economic growth trend persists, particularly led by the economic slowdown in China.

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The government of Indonesia is eager to use current low coal prices as the context to push for consolidation in the country’s coal mining sector. Sudirman Said, Minister of Energy and Mineral Resources, announced that the government may revoke over 4,000 troubled mining licenses this month and install a better licensing system. Licenses that may be revoked are Mining Business Permits (IUPs), not the long-standing Coal Contracts of Work (PKP2B) that are held by companies such as Bumi Resources and Berau Coal Energy.

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On Monday (11/05), it was announced that the reference coal price of Indonesia declined 5.2 percent (month-on-month) to an all-time low of USD $61.08 per metric ton in May. This benchmark price, which is set by the government each month based on the average of four coal indexes (Indonesia Coal Index, Platts Index, New Castle Export Index and New Castle Global Coal Index), continued to plummet due to the coal oversupply in combination with weak global coal demand (particularly falling demand from China).

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The government of Indonesia plans to raise royalties for coal mining companies that hold a Mining Business Permit (Izin Usaha Pertambangan, abbreviated IUP) by revising Government Regulation No. 9 - 2012 on Tariff and Types of Non-Tax Revenue in a move to generate more state income. R. Sukhyar, Director General for Coal and Mineral Resources at the Indonesian Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources, said that the domestic coal industry remains a vital source of state income, particularly amid diminished mineral exports.

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Global copper prices can come under pressure as Newmont Nusa Tenggara (NNT) has started to export copper concentrate again this week after a nine-month hiatus caused by the dispute between the Indonesian government and NNT about Law No. 4 of 2009 on Mineral and Coal Mining (the “New Mining Law” of Indonesia), which sets high export taxes on unprocessed mineral exports (and stipulates a complete ban by 2017), in an effort to force Indonesian miners to build local processing facilities.

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Coal is one of the most important commodities for Indonesia in terms of state revenue as it accounts for about 85 percent of the country's total mining revenue. Therefore, when global coal prices fell sharply from 2011 (amid a slowing global economy), Indonesia felt the impact. In a response to lower coal prices, Indonesian miners actually increased coal output thus placing more downward pressure on coal prices and profit margins. Although the coal industry will remain frail for some time to come, long-term prospects are still strong.

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Concerns have arisen over the government's plan to increase royalties and export duties for coal. The Indonesian Coal Mining Association (APBI) expects that this policy will lead to the closure of various coal miners while increasing acts of illegal mining. According to Bob Kamandanu, chairman of the APBI, 60 million tons of coal per year is not listed by any authority and thus can be labeled 'illegal'. Illegal coal mining also implies that the Indonesian government misses out on about IDR 5.6 trillion (USD $495.6 million) per year.

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