On March 8, 2023, HSBC Indonesia, in cooperation with EKONID, organized the HSBC Investment Forum 2023: Accelerating Indonesia鈥檚 Ambition to be the World鈥檚 Largest EV Supply Chain Hub. Held at The Glass House of Ritz Carlton Pacific Place Jakarta, the event gathered around 100 participants from the public and private sectors.
The event was opened by the President Director of PT Bank HSBC Indonesia Francois de Maricourt and the Executive Director of EKONID Jan R枚nnfeld. The opening remarks were then followed by presentations by Robin Griffin, Vice President of Metals and Mining Research at Wood-Mackenzie, and Hasyim Daeng Barang, Director of Downstreaming of Mineral and Coal at the Indonesian Ministry of Investment (BKPM). Later during the event, Michael Willoughby, Global Head of Mining & Metals at HSBC Global Banking, led a discussion panel that consists of Dani Widjaja, Vice President at CNGR Advanced Material Co. Ltd; Stefanus Ade Hadiwidjaja, Chief Investment Officer at Indonesia Investment Authority; and Toto Nugroho, President Director of Indonesia Battery Corporation (IBC).
Indonesia has nickel reserves of 21 million tons 鈥� the largest in the world. Realizing this great potential, the country has set an ambition to not only be the host of nickel reserves, but also the production of lithium-ion batteries used to power EVs. The government is very keen on encouraging industries to build factories and produce batteries in Indonesia. In 2020, the country stopped the export of nickel ore as part of its downstreaming efforts. As a result, the country鈥檚 revenue from nickel products in 2022 skyrocketed to nearly $30 billion, or more than ten times higher than it was a decade ago. As is well known, before the ban export policy, most of the nickel produced in Indonesia is exported to other countries, such as China, where it is processed into battery components.
The long supply chain of EV batteries presents promising opportunities for mining companies as well as producers of EVs and their components. Several multinational companies have already committed to investing in the development of EV batteries in Indonesia, including Korean-based LG Chem and Hyundai, France-based Eramet, and China's Contemporary Amperex Technology (CATL). German-based BASF and Volkswagen has also announced their intention to invest in the Indonesian battery industry. As recently announced by the Indonesian Minister of State-Owned Enterprises Erick Thohir, Indonesia aims to reach an agreement with the two companies in the momentum of Hannover Messe, the world鈥檚 largest Industry Trade Fair, which will be held on April 17-21 in Hannover, Germany.
In a post-event interview, Mr. de Maricourt expressed his hopes that HSBC Investment Forum could be a platform to discuss and share best practices around the whole EV ecosystem in Indonesia. He said, 鈥淔inancial institutions have a really important role to play [in this development]鈥� Our role is to make sure that there is a good match between the demands of capital in Indonesia for very significant investments and the supply of capital from international investors鈥�.
Meanwhile, Mr. R枚nnfeld highlights the very unique role that Indonesia as the largest source of nickel in the world. 鈥淚ndonesia has a significant share of nickel production worldwide, and we, in Europe and in Germany, should realize the role that Indonesia has鈥�, he said.
