Toll road outlook improved, but financials of developers?
Four sections of toll roads with combined length of 43 KM have entered commercial operation year-to-date. Sixteen others (332 KM) will gradually enter commercial operation in the coming months till year end.
Industrial estates & notable investments
Puradelta Lestari (DMAS), an industrial estate developer controlled by Sinarmas Group, reported strong sales revenue growth of 16.3% in the first quarter of 2022, thanks to major investments from some global firms.
Improved clean water infrastructure
Other than road, water infrastructure has improved significantly during the tenure of Joko ‘Jokowi’ Widodo. Some major water infrastructure projects have been completed, while more are scheduled for commercial operation this year onwards.
Walk the talk: Pusri IIIB Ammonia-Urea
Development of new ammonia and urea facility in Palembang, South Sumatra province by PT Pupuk Sriwijaya, subsidiary of Pupuk Indonesia (holding company for state fertilizer companies), is getting closer to construction. This is one of the largest anticipated investments in the petrochemical sector.
Revisiting Krakatau Steel
State steel producer Krakatau Steel (KRAS) said five investors are keen to be involved in reactivating its blast furnace this year. Said investors are steel producers in Asia, and now they are conducting preliminary due diligence on said blast furnaces.
Luhut-Musk Meeting
Luhut Binsar Pandjaitan, the most powerful cabinet member, has finally met Elon Musk at Tesla’s newly built Gigafactory in Texas, USA this week. While they’ve been communicating regularly, that’s the first meeting in persons. The meeting between two of the most influential persons is interesting for several reasons.
A stronger iron and steel industry, but natural gas?
Indonesia, which was long a net importer of iron and steel, posted nearly US$3 billion of surplus in iron and steel (HS 72) alone in the first quarter of 2022, surged by 130% from the corresponding period of 2021. The country recorded export revenues of US$6.66 billion, expanded by 83% from the same period last year, while import increased by 58% to US$3.73 billion.
Indonesia’s export-import in the first quarter
Indonesia booked trade surplus of US$4.53 billion last month, expanded by 18% from February, thanks to surplus in non oil and gas segment. Pretty much as predicted, the Russia-Ukraine war, which lifted oil and gas prices, led to widening of deficit by 52% year-on-year to US$2.1 billion, but the country in general gained from higher average price of thermal coal, palm oil, and industrial metals.
Smelter Projects Stuck Because of PLN?
Smelter constructions have not progressed smoothly. Lack of funds has often been cited as a reason. Funding issues aside, there is also a problem with the electricity supply from the State Electricity Company (PLN).
IBC & PLN Build BESS
After a long silence, the Indonesia Battery Corporation (IBC) has finally started expanding its business. IBC is collaborating with the state electricity company PLN to build a Battery Energy Storage System (BESS) with a capacity of 5 megawatts (MW). The BESS development will be implemented this year. It is now entering the final stage of evaluation.