According to foreign media reports, Indonesian Investment Minister Bahlil Lahadalia stated at a hearing of the country's sixth committee on May 31 that President Joko Widodo has instructed the Investment Ministry to raise the investment target for 2022 to 1,200 trillion rupiah (approximately 8.4 billion USD, 53.8 billion CNY), which is 30% higher than the target of 900 trillion rupiah in 2021.

Data from China's Ministry of Commerce shows that in 2020, Chinaisthe second largest investor in Indonesia.Chinese enterprises invested 1.98 billion USD in Indonesia across all sectors in 2020, a year-on-year increase of 86.5%.

Indonesia has high-quality nickel resources, making the metal industry a significant sector for Chinese investment in Indonesia. Amid a continued tight global nickel supply, several domestic companies, including Ganfeng Lithium, EVE Energy, GEM, Tsingshan Holding Group, Huayou Cobalt, and Zhongwei Co., have announced investments in the nickel industry in Indonesia this year.

On May 28, Ganfeng Lithium announced that its wholly-owned subsidiary, Ganfeng International Co., Ltd., agreed to invest 15 million USD in convertible bonds of Singapore-listed company Silkroad Nickel Ltd (SRN) using its own funds, with 100% equity of SRN's wholly-owned subsidiary FE Resources Pte. Ltd. holding laterite nickel assets as collateral. After six months of investment effectiveness, the company has the right to convert 100% of its convertible bond rights into 25% equity of FE Company. At the same time, the company has the right to increase its stake in FE Company to 50% at an additional cost of 15 million USD. If the rights are exercised, Ganfeng International will acquire 50% equity of FE Company for a total consideration of 30 million USD. FE Company holds 100% of the assets of its wholly-owned subsidiary PT Teknik Alum Services' laterite nickel project in Indonesia, which has an estimated resource of approximately 146.6 million wet metric tons of laterite nickel ore.

On May 24, Huayou Cobalt's wholly-owned subsidiary Huayou International Cobalt and EVE Energy's wholly-owned subsidiary EVE Asia, Yongrui, Glaucous, and LINDO signed a joint venture agreement for the wet smelting project of laterite nickel ore in Indonesia. The parties agreed to establish a joint venture in Indonesia to implement the wet smelting project of laterite nickel ore, with a project scale of approximately 120,000 tons of nickel metal and about 15,000 tons of cobalt metal per year, with a total investment of approximately 2.08 billion USD (13.374 billion CNY).

On April 7, Zhongwei Co. approved the proposal regarding its wholly-owned subsidiary Zhongwei Hong Kong New Energy signing a joint venture agreement with RIGQUEZA for the laterite nickel ore smelting project with an annual output of 30,000 tons of high-grade nickel (Indonesia). The total investment of the project is approximately 243 million USD (about 1.6 billion CNY). The first phase of the project plans to produce 10,000 tons of high-grade nickel per year, with a total investment of approximately 81 million USD.

On March 23, GEM announced that Hong Kong Bangpu transferred its 15% equity and corresponding rights and obligations in Qingmeibang New Energy Materials Co., Ltd. to GEM Hong Kong, which agreed to acquire the 15% equity. In addition, Newstride Limited transferred 100% of its shares in Xinzhan International to GEM Hong Kong, indirectly transferring 21% of Qingmeibang's shares, and GEM Hong Kong agreed to acquire the 21% equity. After the transaction is completed, GEM Hong Kong will hold a total of 72% of Qingmeibang's equity directly and indirectly, becoming the controlling shareholder of Qingmeibang.

According to official information, Qingmeibang New Energy Materials Co., Ltd. is located in the Qing Mountain Industrial Park of Morowali County, Central Sulawesi Province, Indonesia, with a registered capital of 210 million USD. It is a globally competitive "resource-material-power battery" full industry chain company jointly created by multiple parties.

GEM recently revealed that its HPAL project in Indonesia, which produces 150,000 tons of nickel sulfate crystals annually in cooperation with Tsingshan Holding Group and CATL, is accelerating and is planned to be completed by the end of 2021 and put into operation in early 2022.

On March 15, Huayou Cobalt stated that its nickel hydroxide cobalt wet smelting project in Indonesia, with a nickel metal output of 60,000 tons, is progressing normally and is expected to be completed and trial-produced by the end of 2021. Previously, Huayou Cobalt invested in a nickel hydroxide cobalt wet smelting project with an annual output of 60,000 tons of nickel metal and a high-grade nickel project with an annual output of 45,000 tons.

On March 1, Tsingshan Holding Group signed a high-grade nickel supply agreement with Huayou Cobalt and Zhongwei Co., agreeing to supply 60,000 tons of high-grade nickel to Huayou Cobalt and 40,000 tons to Zhongwei Co. starting in October 2021 over the course of a year. Tsingshan began trial production of high-grade nickel in Indonesia in July 2020, producing high-grade nickel with a nickel content of over 75%. The process was successfully trial-produced by the end of 2020 and is now able to stably supply high-quality high-grade nickel.

Tsingshan stated that it will continue to increase investment in Indonesia's nickel industry, with an expected production of 600,000 tons of nickel equivalent in 2021, 850,000 tons in 2022, and 1.1 million tons in 2023. The output of high-grade nickel and nickel iron will be adjusted according to market demand and price changes.

The Deputy Minister of Maritime Affairs and Investment Coordination of Indonesia previously stated that CATL plans to invest 5 billion USD to build a lithium battery factory in Indonesia, which is expected to start production in 2024. However, CATL has not officially announced this news, stating that it will be based on the announcement.

In addition to the aforementioned Chinese enterprises, several foreign companies are also entering Indonesia. The Indonesian Investment Coordinating Board announced at the end of December last year that it had signed a memorandum of understanding with LG Chem, which includes investments in the entire electric vehicle supply chain amounting to 9.8 billion USD. In addition, Tesla has also sent relevant personnel to Indonesia to explore the possibility of establishing a supply chain cooperation relationship with the Indonesian government and plans to build a factory in the Batang region of Central Java, Indonesia.

Since 2009, Indonesia has implemented a series of policies, from encouraging investment in metal refining enterprises to a complete ban on the export of unprocessed ores, Indonesia has been committed to attracting foreign investment in the local nickel industry chain. In the future, the Indonesian government's policy focus will still be on promoting investment to shift downstream in the mining value chain. Reports indicate that the Indonesian government will increase efforts to attract investment in the nickel industry for batteries and aquaculture in Sulawesi and Maluku, encourage the development of fertilizer production in Papua Province, develop bauxite and gasification in Kalimantan, and promote investment in automotive battery production in Java.