Adaro digs deep as coal industry gets more ugly

Joko “Jokowi” Widodo, Indonesia’s president-elect, might represent a new dawn for the country in terms of improving infrastructure and tackling corruption but even he can’t control the coal price.

The country, the world’s largest exporter of the fuel, is being hit harder than most by an industry slump that has seen the price drop from $138 in 2011 to $68, its lowest level since September 2009.

“Today, I must say it’s an ugly situation. For any coal producer it is very very difficult,” David Tendian, chief financial officer of Adaro Energy, told FinanceAsia in an interview at the firm’s Jakarta headquarters.

Adaro Energy,...