Three iron and steel companies listed on Indonesia Stock Exchange (IDX)—-Krakatau Steel, Spindo, and Garuda Metalindo—-reported mixed financial results in the first quarter of 2026. Krakatau and Garuda Metalindo improved on sales and margins, while Spindo weakened. All of them, however, cut workforce in the period.

Electric vehicle (EV) transition is no longer a unified national project. It is becoming a patchwork of provincial experiments—each shaped less by strategy than by fiscal pressure. With new rules issued via the Ministry of Home Affairs, regional governments are no longer required to keep EV taxes at zero. They can now impose or reduce levies such as vehicle ownership tax (PKB) and transfer fees (BBNKB) at their own discretion.

PT Lotte Chemical Indonesia (LCI), which operates the second largest petrochemical centre in the country, has secured a naphtha supply from Malaysia to ensure the continuity of production amid disruption of global supply chain due to conflicts in the Middle East.

Electric vehicle (EV) push is beginning to look like a policy contradiction. At the very moment the government reiterates its ambition to accelerate the energy transition, it is quietly allowing a key incentive to erode. With the issuance of a new regulation through the Ministry of Home Affairs, regional governments are no longer bound to keep EV taxes at zero. Instead, they are given discretion to impose or reduce levies such as vehicle ownership tax (PKB) and transfer fees (BBNKB).

For years, Indonesia has chased a singular industrial ambition: to become part of Apple’s global manufacturing chain. The logic has always been straightforward. If Vietnam can assemble AirPods and iPads, and India can produce iPhones, then Southeast Asia’s largest economy should be able to do the same. The recent confirmation that AirTag devices are now being assembled in Batam and exported to the United States appears to validate that aspiration. But the reality is more complicated—and far less transformative.

Nickel ended slightly lower by 0.47% to US$18,150 on the London Metal Exchange (LME) Tuesday (Apr 21). That means the commodity gained 15% year-on-year. Input costs for nickel smelters, however, have increased substantially higher.

Shares of automotive component manufacturer Astra Otoparts (AUTO) ended higher by 2.94% to Rp2,800 Tuesday (Apr 21) as investors responded positively the company’s relatively strong performance in the first quarter.

Shares of PT Hotel Fitra International Tbk (FITT) jumped 24.73% Tuesday  (April 14) to make market capitalization of Rp605.18 billion after the company announced plans to move into the mining sector. The rally continued Wednesday and Thursday, but retreated this morning.