Not an Ownership Relationship, but a Long-Standing Partnership in Mining Services and Coal Marketing
ICN News, Jakarta — Jhonlin Group and PT Bumi Resources Tbk (BUMI) are two prominent names in Indonesia’s coal industry. Interestingly, the two business groups do have a tangible business relationship not through share ownership, but through commercial activities involving PT Arutmin Indonesia, one of BUMI’s key subsidiaries.
The relationship is clearly reflected in BUMI’s financial statements. In its interim financial statements as of June 30, 2024, BUMI recorded PT Jhonlin Group under other payables to third parties. The amount reached US$42.70 million, equivalent to approximately Rp690 billion based on an assumed exchange rate of Rp16,200 per US dollar.
More importantly, the financial statements explain that the payable represented an obligation of Arutmin related to mining service costs. This indicates that Jhonlin’s relationship with BUMI was not merely a general commercial relationship at the holding-company level, but was directly connected to Arutmin’s mining operations.
JHONLIN BARATAMA’S INVOLVEMENT IN ARUTMIN’S MINING OPERATIONS
The relationship becomes even more significant when Arutmin’s contractual arrangements are examined. BUMI’s financial statements as of June 30, 2026, state that PT Jhonlin Baratama had an agreement with Arutmin for coal mining operation services at Sarongga. The agreement was in effect from January 2, 2013 until June 30, 2026.
This means the relationship between the Jhonlin business group and Arutmin has extended for more than a decade and has involved the core operational side of mining activities. This is an important fact because it demonstrates that Jhonlin is not a newcomer to BUMI’s business ecosystem. Long before Jhonlin emerged as one of Indonesia’s major coal industry players, the group had already established a business relationship with one of the country’s largest coal producers through Arutmin’s mining operations.
MORE THAN MINING SERVICES
The business relationship has also extended into coal marketing. BUMI’s latest financial disclosures refer to the Jhonlin Group in the context of Arutmin’s domestic coal sales. The report states that PT Alberta Sukses Makmur (ASM) acts as a marketing agent for Arutmin’s domestic coal sales, receiving a commission of 4.08% of the FOB sales value. However, the agreement excludes coal sales to PT Jhonlin Group (JG).
This indicates that the relationship between the Jhonlin business ecosystem and Arutmin has not been limited to mining services, but has also intersected with the domestic coal marketing chain. In other words, the relationship touches several important segments of the coal value chain: mining operations, mining services, and coal trading and marketing.
DOES JHONLIN OWN BUMI?
Based on the available information, the answer is there is no evidence that Jhonlin Group owns or controls BUMI. Likewise, there is no evidence that BUMI owns Jhonlin Group.
BUMI is a publicly listed company with a different shareholder structure. Therefore, the Jhonlin BUMI connection is more accurately described as a commercial and business relationship, rather than an ownership relationship.
This distinction is important. The existence of a payable from Arutmin to Jhonlin should not be interpreted as evidence that Jhonlin is a shareholder or controller of BUMI.
TWO MAJOR FORCES IN INDONESIA’S COAL INDUSTRY
What makes this relationship particularly interesting is the growing scale and influence of both business groups. Through Kaltim Prima Coal (KPC) and Arutmin, BUMI remains one of Indonesia’s largest coal producers. In the first quarter of 2026, BUMI recorded coal production of 19.2 million tonnes and coal sales of 19.1 million tonnes, while revenue reached US$417.7 million.
Meanwhile, Jhonlin Group has also expanded aggressively through a range of businesses covering mining, mining services, logistics and commodity trading.
Interestingly, Jhonlin’s long-standing relationship with Arutmin demonstrates that the group has been part of the large-scale mining ecosystem for many years. One of its entities, Jhonlin Baratama, has been involved in Arutmin’s mining operations at Sarongga.
A LONG-STANDING RELATIONSHIP IN A CHANGING INDUSTRY LANDSCAPE
The business relationship between Jhonlin and BUMI is becoming increasingly interesting amid changes in Indonesia’s coal industry landscape. Jhonlin is now aggressively expanding the scale of its mining business, while BUMI is also transforming and diversifying its portfolio, including through expansion into minerals beyond coal.
Therefore, the historical relationship between Jhonlin and Arutmin deserves attention. Not because it indicates cross-ownership, but because it demonstrates how two major business groups can be connected through the mining services and coal trading value chain.
For the industry, this also illustrates that competition and cooperation in the coal sector do not always take the form of share ownership. Strategic relationships are often built through mining operation contracts, mining services, marketing, logistics and commodity trading.
Accordingly, Jhonlin and BUMI do have a tangible business relationship. However, based on the available disclosures, that relationship should be understood as a commercial relationship between the Jhonlin business ecosystem and Arutmin — not as evidence that Jhonlin owns BUMI.
And that is precisely what makes the story interesting: two major forces in Indonesia’s coal industry can operate within the same business ecosystem while remaining independent business groups.
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