Industries

Minister of state-owned enterprise Erick Thohir recently said that the Pulogadung industrial area, which is currently managed by PT Jakarta Industrial Estate Pulogadung (JIEP), should be moved to Subang Regency, West Java province. According to Erick, the industrial estate should not be in the middle of the city anymore. 

Astra International (ASII), the country’s largest automotive player, has finally joined the nickel-EV race. Astra’s United Tractors (UNTR) has on December 3, 2022, through PT Danusa Tambang Nusantara (DTN), acquired 89.9% shares in nickel miner PT Stargate Pasific Resources (SPR) from PT Anugerah Surya Pacific Resources (ASPR) for US$271.83 million, equivalent to Rp4.28 trillion.

Nickel miner Vale Indonesia (INCO), together with Zhejiang Huayou Cobalt Co., Ltd, on Sunday (November 27) commemorated a groundbreaking ceremony to start the development of the Pomalaa Block project in Kolaka Regency, Southeast Sulawesi. 

The competition in the glass industry will likely intensify. Chinese glass player Xinyi Energy Glass has prepared US$7 billion of investment to set up a glass and solar panel factory in the Bangka Belitung quartz sand mine.

President Joko ‘Jokowi’ Widodo and China president Xi Jinping have on Wednesday (Nov 16) witnessed the so-called ‘dynamic trial’ of the Jakarta-Bandung high speed train (HST). Claiming construction progress of over 80%, the train is scheduled to start commercial operation in June 2023. 

Garibaldi ‘Boy’ Thohir, chairman of metallurgical coal PT Adaro Minerals Indonesia Tbk (ADMR), and Jay Chang, CEO of Hyundai Motor Company, signed memorandum of understanding (MoU) related to strategic partnership on aluminium project at the sidelines of Business 20 at the Bali Nusa Dua Convention Center few days ago. This is one of 18 MoUs and agreements signed by Indonesian business groups and global companies during the event.

The Ministry of Investment signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with China’s CNGR Advanced Material Co Ltd in order to support the development of the electric vehicle ecosystem in Indonesia. The signing of the cooperation with estimated investment value of US$5 billion was carried out by Secretary of the Ministry of Investment Ikmal Lukman and Chairman of CNGR Advanced Material Co Ltd Deng Weiming and witnessed by Investment Minister Bahlil Lahadalia at the B20 Investment Forum, Nusa Dua, Bali last week.

The Indonesian government is continuing to investigate acute kidney injury among children, which has linked to the presence of certain harmful compounds in syrup medicines. The move comes as the world’s fourth most populous country suffers a spike in cases of acute kidney injury that has killed nearly 200 children since the end of August, prompting an investigation and ban on the sale of some syrup medicines.

The government will soon open tender for the development of two strategic toll roads in the greater Jakarta with combined investment of Rp41.68 trillion or about US$2.7 billion. They are the Semanan-Balaraja (32.39 KM) in the western part of Jakarta and the Cikunir-Karawaci (40.5 KM) connecting east and west of Jakarta. 

The increase in fuel prices, threat of a global warming crisis, the scarcity of fossil energy and recently added the threat of an economic recession, have made the automotive industry aggressively develop electric vehicles. Pioneered, among others, by the Tesla manufacturer, which from the beginning only made electric cars, now almost all automotive brands offer their electric vehicle models as an alternative. The governments in various parts of the world also provide incentives for electric vehicles, including in Indonesia.