Haji Isam swoops on Bayan to create an Indonesian coal giant
The deal would make the tycoon from Kalimantan one of the world’s top coal producers
Published Fri, Sep 18, 2026 · 10:30 AM
INDONESIAN tycoon Andi Syamsuddin Arsyad agreed to acquire a major stake in miner Bayan Resources, setting the stage for him to become one of the biggest figures in the global thermal coal industry.
The tycoon, who is better known as Haji Isam, agreed on Wednesday (Sep 16) to acquire 30 per cent of the company’s shares through his company Jhonlin Baratama, according to a stock exchange filing late on Thursday.
The shares will be transferred from Low Tuck Kwong and his daughter Elaine Low, Bayan’s two biggest shareholders, subject to several conditions.
Bayan did not elaborate further on the conditions or the price of the share sale. Jhonlin and Bayan did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
A US$3 billion cash offer for a 62 per cent stake in the coal company was made in September, according to people familiar with the matter.
Haji Isam, 49, has been seeking control of Bayan in a deal that would make him one of the world’s top coal producers.
The businessman from Kalimantan was among the biggest backers of Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto’s 2024 election campaign and now oversees major government projects, including a one-million-hectare food estate in Papua.
His conglomerate Jhonlin Group is already a major producer of thermal coal, requesting a mining quota of 60 million tonnes in 2026, Bloomberg reported in July.
Bayan, meanwhile, mined about 68 million tonnes in 2025.
A combined total would place Haji Isam above industry giants like Glencore and below only Indian and Chinese miners that sell their product domestically.
He would control by far the largest miner in Indonesia, the world’s biggest exporter of thermal coal.
Bayan, founded by Singapore-born Low in 2004, had its production quota slashed by the Indonesian government earlier in 2026, leading it to declare force majeure last week.
Competitors including Bumi Resources and Adaro Andalan were largely spared from enforced output cuts, Bloomberg reported in February. BLOOMBERG
