China - The impact of the nickel export ban aimed at increasing downstreaming is now starting to be felt. Business actors in South Korea and China have expressed interest in building factories in Indonesia. As nickel prices soar, several companies have intended to build processing and refining plants (smelters) in Indonesia.
"At a meeting with LG Chemical in Seoul a few days ago, they said they were considering developing their lithium battery production facility in Indonesia after hearing Indonesia's plan to implement a ban on nickel ore exports effective January 2020 and also after nickel prices in the global market continued to rise," said Coordinating Minister for Maritime Affairs, Luhut Binsar Panjaitan, in Beijing, Sunday (22/09/2019) after attending the ASEAN-China Expo in Nanning City, southern China.
But according to him, LG Chemical has not yet determined the partner with the company, it could be with China or Volkswagen, the German car manufacturer which is currently developing its electric car product.
This supports the government's plan to develop electric vehicles. As is known, the raw material for electric car batteries is nickel with a content of below 1,4 percent which is currently still exported.
“Electric cars also use aluminum and carbon steel as for the part chassis-"Its machinery, etc. Thus we hope that tax revenues will increase and open up more jobs," he explained.
On the sidelines of his visit to the expo, Coordinating Minister Luhut had the opportunity to meet with the Deputy Chairman of China's National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC) Ning Jizhe.
Mr. Ning said that the impact of this new regulation was also felt by his country, where 50-75 percent of its nickel supply depends on exports from Indonesia.
At the meeting, Coordinating Minister Luhut asked Mr. Ning to convey Indonesia's objection to China regarding the implementation of an increase in anti-dumping import duties on steel products. stainless steel from Indonesia. Mr. Ning promised to follow up.
On the other hand, Mr. Ning asked Coordinating Minister Luhut to help accelerate the construction of the Jakarta-Bandung high-speed railway. Coordinating Minister Luhut said he would convey it to the Indonesian government. The progress of the Jakarta-Bandung high-speed railway project has now reached 28%.
In addition, the two leaders discussed investment possibilities in Indonesia. Coordinating Minister Luhut proposed that the investment projects also involve investors from the United Arab Emirates. Mr. Ning said that the UAE is not a foreign partner for his country, because China has built several infrastructure projects there, and Mr. Ning is satisfied with what they have done together.
UAE Investments
Regarding the investment plan of the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Coordinating Minister Luhut said that Finance Minister Sri Mulyani had received a report from the Director General of Financing and Risk Management, Ministry of Finance Luky Alfirman, and Acting President Director of PT. SMI, Edwin Syahruzad who participated in Coordinating Minister Luhut's visit to the UAE last week. According to him, the Minister of Finance agreed to come to the UAE for further discussions.
"I have communicated directly with Crown Prince Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, who promised to call President Joko Widodo this Monday to discuss the follow-up to the agreements we have made with dialogue partners," he said.
Coordinating Minister Luhut said the Crown Prince asked him to speed up the realization of the points of the agreement, so that by the end of this year there will be some that can be implemented immediately. Sheikh Zayed also said he would officially invite the President to visit his country early next year.
The agreements reached during Coordinating Minister Luhut's visit to Abu Dhabi include the following:
- Shaping Indonesian Sovereign Wealth Fund,
- Implementing Abu Dhabi's investment of around USD 1 billion in property projects, real estate market including the development of tourist destinations and private projects,
- UAE agrees to invest in agriculture in Central Kalimantan with 100.000 hectares of land to be planted with tropical fruits including dragon fruit,
- Building religious tolerance, by building mosques and providing scholarships for teachers and students in the fields of religion and tolerance.
Source: Coordinating Ministry for Maritime Affairs Public Relations
