Key facts
- Andi Syamsuddin Arsyad, known as Haji Isam, agreed to acquire a 30% stake in Bayan Resources.
- The shares will be transferred from Bayan's largest shareholders, Low Tuck Kwong and his daughter Elaine Low.
- Haji Isam made a $3 billion cash offer for a 62% stake in the coal company earlier in September.
- Bayan Resources' stock rose as much as 20% in Jakarta on Friday, September 18, 2026.
- Haji Isam's conglomerate PT Jhonlin Group requested a mining quota of 60 million tons in 2026.
- Bayan Resources mined about 68 million tons in 2025.
Shares in Indonesian coal miner Bayan Resources surged to their daily upper limit on Friday, September 18, 2026, after the company announced that Jhonlin Baratama, a company owned by politically connected tycoon Andi Syamsuddin Arsyad, had agreed to acquire a 30% stake. The deal could make the billionaire, better known as Haji Isam, one of the world's top coal producers. Haji Isam, who was among the biggest backers of Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto’s 2024 election campaign, agreed on September 16 to acquire the stake through PT Jhonlin Baratama. The shares will be transferred from coal tycoon Low Tuck Kwong and his daughter Elaine Low, Bayan’s two biggest shareholders, subject to several conditions. Bayan did not elaborate further on the deal or the price of the share sale in the filing. The company’s stock rose as much as 20% in Jakarta on Friday, the biggest intraday gain in a month, and was set for a weekly advance of around 12%. Haji Isam made a US$3 billion cash offer for a 62% stake in the coal company earlier in September, according to people familiar with the matter, putting a price tag of roughly US$4.8 billion on Bayan. Haji Isam’s conglomerate PT Jhonlin Group is already a major producer of thermal coal, requesting a mining quota of 60 million tons in 2026. Bayan, meanwhile, mined about 68 million tons in 2025. The combined total would place Haji Isam above industry giants like Glencore Plc and below only Indian and Chinese miners that sell their product domestically. If he gets a controlling stake in Bayan, the 49-year-old from Kalimantan would oversee by far the largest coal business in Indonesia, the world’s biggest exporter of the fossil fuel. Market participants are waiting for more details of the transaction to gauge the impact on the company’s share price, said Andreas Yordan Tarigan, an equity analyst at PT Sucor Sekuritas. 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 PT Bumi Resources and PT Adaro Andalan were largely spared from enforced output cuts. Most of Haji Isam’s businesses are unlisted, but people who know him say his fortune easily exceeds US$1 billion.