Indonesia's President Picks Cement Executive to Head Pertamina

Bareksa.com - Indonesia's president picked the president director of cement firm PT Semen Indonesia, Dwi Soetjipto, as the new head of state energy firm Pertamina, a cabinet minister said on Friday.

Soetjipto, who has little experience in the energy sector, will be responsible for implementing much needed reforms at Pertamina, which has struggled to halt declining domestic crude production and cope with rising demand for oil and gas imports.

"The president decided the best person for the role is Dwi Soetjipto," State Enterprise Minister Rini Soemarno told reporters.

Pertamina, which reported a 20 percent drop in income to $1.15 billion for the first half of 2014 compared to the same period last year, has been aggressively acquiring energy assets both at home and abroad to offset its declining output.

Over the next five years, Pertamina plans to spend $61 billion, 83 percent of which will be on upstream development including mergers and acquisitions.

Under Soetjipto's leadership, Indonesia's biggest cement maker expanded overseas by buying stakes in cement firms in Vietnam and Myanmar. (Source : Reuters)