WILL PERTAMINA BENEFIT FROM ITS ACQUISITION OF PGN?

By Andi Abdussalam
Jakarta, Jan 21 (Antara) - State-owned oil and gas company Pertamina's plan to acquire state gas distributor firm PGN is under government evaluation, though it was earlier reported that the government has agreed to it.          "There is no final statement from the government about its agreement to the acquisition. The government only agreed to carry out evaluations to study the best option," stated Finance Deputy Minister Bambang Brodjonegoro on Friday.          It was earlier reported that the government had agreed to PT Pertamina's plan to acquire PT PGN, asking the state-owned oil and gas company to present an evaluation on its corporate action plan.          It was actually an agreement to conduct an evaluation of Pertamina's acquisition plan, which was decided upon during a meeting between State-owned Enterprise Minister Dahlan Iskan and the Board of Directors and Commissioners of Pertamina, early this month.      If the government finally agrees to the acquisition, will Pertamina benefit from the corporate action?