A group from Britain, including the mining heavyweight Glencore, plans to pour around $9 billion into Indonesia’s mining sector and the growing market for electric vehicle (EV) batteries, according to an Indonesia minister on Wednesday. This effort is a part of Indonesia’s strategy to attract international businesses to capitalize on its extensive natural resources.
With the largest nickel reserves globally, Indonesia aims to advance its industries to eventually manufacture batteries and vehicles for leading electric car producers worldwide.
Investment Minister Bahlil Lahadalia didn’t detail how the investment would be distributed but mentioned it’s destined for an industrial complex in the Bantaeng area, located on the island of Sulawesi. This complex, expected to run on wind power, should be operational by September.
The Indonesia ministry has named several participants in the British consortium, including not only Glencore but also Indonesia’s own Aneka Tambang (a state mining company), material specialist Umicore, and the energy firm Envision Group.
At the time of inquiry, Envision and Aneka Tambang had yet to respond, while Glencore chose not to comment on the speculation. Umicore also did not provide any comments.
Minister Bahlil expressed optimism about the investment, stating, “The investment is around $9 billion if everything goes as planned. We’ll expedite the process if possible.”
Toto Nugroho, who leads the Indonesia Battery Corporation, a state-owned entity, believes this investment will pave the way for Indonesia to break into the British and European markets.
Since 2020, the Indonesian government has stopped the export of raw nickel ore aiming to reserve its resources for current and prospective investors. This move also forms part of Indonesia’s broader strategy to attract major EV manufacturers like Tesla and BYD Group from China.