Japan may sell Inpex stake to fund rebuild

Japan's government is looking at selling some of its stake in Inpex, the developer of the Igold kacha centrifugechthys liquefied natural gas project in Western Australia and the Northern Territory, to fund earthquake and tsunami reconstruction.

But the company insists it is proceeding as normal with the $30 billion Darwin-based venture, widely tipped to receive final investment approval this year. The project has helped fuel the resources boom in Darwin and Inpex has opened a large office in Perth. The Japanese government is the biggest single shareholder in Inpex, which is the controlling partner in Ichthys, with an 18.9 per cent shareholding of the Tokyo-listed energy giant. In a bid to raise funds for disaster reconstruction, the government has flagged selling its stake in Japan Tobacco and several energy companies, including Inpex. A Tokyo-based spokesman for the company said...