Sanken leaves Indonesia, further deindustrialization
Sanken Electric Co Ltd has decided to close down its manufacturing facility in MM2100 industrial estate, Cikarang, West Java by June 2025. The announcement from ministry of industry was made when a big Japanese business delegation is reportedly in the country to meet the President’s brother.
EV Industry Update
China’s Green Eco Manufacture (GEM) will invest approximately US$293.2 million to expand the annual capacity of its ternary precursor plant in Indonesia and establish a joint venture (JV) with EcoPro, a South Korean EV battery material firm.
REPT Battero & Indonesian Interests
REPT Battero Energy Co Ltd, a leading manufacturer of EV battery and energy storage system (ESS) battery, launched initial public offering in December 2023 to raise US$271 million. The stock, listed on the HK Stock Exchange (HKEX), however, collapsed more than 40% to HK$11 last week to make a market capitalisation of HK$25 billion.
Sritex: Inevitable Layoffs
Peaceful demonstration by Sritex workers, initially scheduled for January 14-15, 2025, is postponed indefinitely. It is reported that around ten thousand of workers at PT Sri Rejeki Isman (Sritex), which has officially been declared bankrupt since October last year, seek for justice as they are now subject to inevitable layoffs.
Green aluminium & nuclear plan
President Prabowo Subianto talked about investments from Danantara in high-impact projects, including renewable energy, several times in the past few days. Details were not provided, but the country’s fast growing metal processing needs bigger supply of green energy so they can enter the global supply chain.
More aggressive Chinese biopharmaceutical in Indonesia
Two leading biopharmaceutical companies from China have recently secured registration of their respective products from Indonesian Food & Drug Administration (BPOM), intensifying competition in the market.
Steel industry update
World crude steel production for the 71 countries reporting to the World Steel Association (worldsteel), which accounted for around 98% of total world production, was 1.84 billion tons last year, down 0.9% from 2023, dragged down mostly by lower production in Asia, North America, and Russia.
Merck Indonesia’s expansion plans
Shares of PT Merck Tbk (MERK), subsidiary of Germany’s Merck AG, ended flat at Rp3,470 on Thursday (Feb 13) to make a market capitalisation of Rp1.55 trillion only (less than US$100 million), nothing compared to its parent (60.2 billion Euros). Merck is among the oldest issuers listed on the Indonesia Stock Exchange (IPO in 1981).
Trump’s Tariffs on Steel & Aluminium
US President Donald Trump plans to impose 25% tariffs on all steel and aluminium. It remains unclear whether Indonesia, an exporter of steel and alumina (key raw material for aluminium), will be subject to the tariffs.
Consolidation in cement industry
Domestic cement consumption might grow 6 million tons per annum from full implementation of President Prabowo’s ambitious three million homes per annum program. That would be significant to reduce the pathetic oversupply which hit the industry in the past 15 years or so. Doubts over the program, however, might force faster consolidation in the cement industry.