JakartaGlobe-Apr 26
Coordinating Minister for the Economic Affairs Luhut Binsar Pandjaitan has met Tesla Chief Executive Officer Elon Musk in Austin, Texas, on Tuesday to discuss the possibility for the American electric car giant to take part in the nickel and electric battery industry in Indonesia. In the meeting, Luhut and Musk were joined by several prominent Indonesian businessmen, including Anindya Bakrie, the advisory council chairman of the Indonesia Chamber of Trade and Industry (Kadin). Anindya is a scion of the Bakrie conglomerate with interests spanning from mining and media to electric buses. The country is eager to leverage its nickel reserve, the largest globally, to establish a world-class car battery manufacturing industry and place itself as a critical player in the electric vehicles supply chain.
Indonesia has been in contact with the world’s largest carmaker company by market capitalization for two years to establish a car battery plant and energy storage system. But it was a Chinese corporation, Ningbo Contemporary Brunp Lygend (CBL), and a South Korean company LG Energy Solution that took the first step to build the battery factory here. Tesla’s deal had been put on the back burner as the company was too demanding and refused to meet Indonesia’s terms, Luhut told local media last month, casting doubt about Tesla’s investment in Indonesia. Read more at: https://jakartaglobe.id/business/indonesias-tesla-dream-kept-alive-after-senior-minister-meets-elon-musk
