Japan's Mitsui to sell stake in Indonesia's coal power plants operator

TOKYO, June 22 (Reuters) - Japanese trading house Mitsui & Co said on Tuesday it had agreed to sell its stake in Indonesia's PT Paiton Energy, which operates coal power plants, to RH International (Singapore), a unit of Thai energy firm Ratch group PCL.

The move is in line with Mitsui's plan to sell its remaining stakes in coal-fired power stations by the end of the decade and a growing global trend to move away from coal to cut harmful carbon dioxide emissions and slow climate change.

Paiton Energy owns and operates coal-fired power plants in Indonesia under a long-term power purchase agreement with PT Perusahaan Listrik Negara (PLN), the Indonesian national electricity power company.

Mitsui plans to sell its stake in Paiton Energy and two related entities to RH International by the end of March 2022, subject to consent by PLN and the financing party, as well as Ratch shareholder approval, the Japanese firm said.

Mitsui expected to book a profit from the deal but was not able to calculate the amount now due to customary price adjustment mechanisms, it said, adding that it would announce the impact on its earnings immediately upon confirmation.

(Reporting by Yuka Obayashi; Editing by Edmund Blair)