Construction of four multifunction dams in some provinces have been completed, strengthening clean and irrigation water supply plus flooding control. The completed dams are Way Sekampung (Pringsewu Regency, Lampung province), Bendo (Ponorogo, East Java), Paselloreng (Wajo Regency, South Sulawesi), and Kuningan (Kuningan Regency, West Java). 

LME nickel returned to US$19,650 per ton last Friday (Aug 13), thanks to faster pace of electric vehicle (EV) disruption in Europe and China, two of the largest auto markets. US President Joe Biden’s target to have 50% sales of battery EV and plug-in-hybrid by 2030 also supported the commodity.

The Rokan-Riau block, the oil and gas block with the largest production (160,000 barrels per day), officially belongs to the state oil and gas company, Pertamina. PT Chevron Pacific Indonesia previously managed the Rokan Block. The Rokan block was discovered in 1941 and began production in 1951. Chevron entered in 1971.

PT Medikaloka Hermina Tbk (HEAL), owner and operator of Hermina hospital chain, booked net profit of Rp535.9 billion in the first half of 2021, surged by more than 400% from the corresponding period last year, thanks to stronger revenues. 

Connectivity of areas in the Greater Jakarta has improved further with operation of Section I of Cibitung-Cilincing toll road, which is part of the Jakarta Outer Ring Road-2 (JORR-2), over the weekend. Cibitung-Cilincing is key component of JORR-2 to connect industrial areas in Banten and West Java provinces with Tanjung Priok, the largest port in the country.

Petrochemical giant Chandra Asri (TPIA) booked net profit of US$164.4 million in the first half of 2021 against net loss of US$40 million in the corresponding period last year, thanks to stronger sales growth rooted in higher volume and average prices of both olefins and polyolefins (polyethylene/PE and polypropylene/PP). 

Siloam Hospitals (SILO), member of Lippo Group, recorded net profit of Rp292 billion in the first half of 2021 against net loss of Rp130 billion in the corresponding period last year, thanks to substantial increase in sales revenues due to the spike of Covid-19 cases in the country. 

The Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources (ESDM) continues to push smelter developers toward completing their construction projects. “As mandated by the Law (No. 3/2020), we continue to push mining companies to finish the construction of their respective smelter … there is a cap on how many smelters can be built due to the nickel sulphate supply constraint. The target for 2021 is four new smelters, bringing the total of operating smelters to 23, 16 of which are nickel smelters, two copper smelters, two bauxite smelters, one iron ore smelter, one manganese smelter and one zinc smelter. The target is to have 53 smelters by 2024,” The Directorate General for Minerals and Coal Ridwan Jamaludin told us on Aug. 26 via text message. 

Strong sales of electric vehicles (EVs) worldwide in the first half of 2021 might have contributed to significantly higher price in some metals, particularly copper and nickel. PT Freeport Indonesia, one of the world’s largest producers of copper, for example, reported around US$3.4 billion of sales revenues from copper alone in the first half, jumped by 221% from the corresponding period last year.

So, Indonesia booked trade surplus of US$11.86 billion in the first half of 2021, jumped by nearly 119% from the corresponding period last year, thanks to strong performance of non oil and gas sector. The oil and gas suffered trade deficit of US$5.7 billion in the period, surged by 58% from the same period last year due to higher average prices and domestic consumption.