Bloomberg reported that Bumi Resources said a probe by Bumi Plc, the London-listed shareholder founded by Nathaniel Rothschild, and subsequent “leaks” about the matter are an attempt to damage the Indonesian coal producer.

Bumi Resources director Mr Dileep Srivastava said in an e mailed statement “The present situation is unfortunate and is an internal issue between a few shareholders who have chosen to go external, managing media through innuendo. This appears to be an attempt to damage the inherent value of our business by orchestrating internal issues and leaking them publicly, for motives which appear dubious.”

Bumi Plc, which owns 29% of the Jakarta-based miner, said on Monday that it began investigating “potential financial and other irregularities” and hired lawyers to look into a USD 637 million writedown of development funds and exploration assets.

Moody’s Investors Service changed its outlook on Bumi Resources to negative from stable on Tuesday, while Standard & Poor’s cut its long-term rating by a step to B+ the next day.

The probe is the latest turn in a dispute involving Rothschild and Indonesia’s Bakrie family since they agreed to a USD 3 billion deal in 2010.

Source - Bloomberg

(www.coalguru.com)