When President Prabowo Subianto’s administration proposed to include a “national car project” in Indonesia’s list of Proyek Strategis Nasional (PSN), many felt a sense of deja vu. The narrative was familiar — national pride, industrial independence, and a promise that in just a few years, Indonesia would finally have its own car “made by Indonesians.”

In his speech at the first anniversary of ruling the country, President Prabowo Subianto said Indonesia will have the national car within three years, and that he has set aside funds and location for the project.

Tsingshan Group (China) and POSCO (South Korea) plan to jointly build a stainless steel plant with a capacity of 2 million ton per annum in Indonesia Morowali Industrial Park, Central Sulawesi. 

The government is committed to ending imports of table salt by 2025 and achieving self-sufficiency in industrial salt by 2027, as mandated by Presidential Decree No. 126 of 2022 on the Acceleration of National Salt Development. National demand for raw salt in 2024 and 2025 is projected at 4.9 million tons, with an annual growth assumption of 2.5% due to population and industrial sector growth. This year, domestic production is targeted at 2.25 million tons. Combined with a remaining stock of 836,000 tons, local supply is expected to cover 63% of total demand.

PT Well Harvest Winning Alumina Refinery (WHWAR), a joint venture between Indonesian Harita Group’s Cita Mineral Investindo (CITA, where Glencore International is a minority partner), China Hongqiao Limited and Winning Investment Co Ltd, started commercial operation of smelter grade alumina (SGA) in West Kalimantan in 2016. 

Indonesian government has in the past few years splashed 10 to 20-year tax holidays to Chinese companies investing in metal processing. Most of these smelters, interestingly, have enjoyed hefty profits in their early years of operations. 

Naphtha, key raw material for petrochemical industry, lost 15.5% year-on-year to mirror correction of crude oil. Petrochemicals, unfortunately, are not benefited from lower input costs because of persistent oversupply of polymers in the region due to growing capacity in China.

Shares of PT Steel Pipe Industry of Indonesia Tbk (ISSP) ended slightly higher by 0.5% to Rp394 last Friday (Aug 22). It is among the best performing stocks in the past five months or so with over 60% gain, thanks to favourable valuation.

China’s Yingfa Ruineng Technology Co Ltd, through its subsidiary PT Bintan Cellular Indonesia, plans to expand its solar cell manufacturing facility in overseas market by expanding the construction of its phase II of its production base in Indonesia. The company plans to construct an additional five production lines with additional production capacity of 3GW per annum in Riau Islands. 

Indonesia’s government has entered a new phase in public procurement policy with the issuance of Presidential Regulation No. 46/2025, a revision that strengthens the mandate to prioritize domestically made goods in all government procurement, from central ministries to the most remote village administrations. While the regulation is primarily aimed at boosting local industry, its impact will be felt equally by the private sector and the bureaucracy tasked with implementing it.