Chinese tycoons drive Indonesia's aluminium boom, echoing nickel success
Grappling with production curbs back home, companies like billionaire Xiang Guangda's Tsingshan Holding, China Hongqiao and Song Jianbo's Shandong Nanshan Aluminum are turning to
Southeast Asia 's largest economy, ploughing cash into new smelters and refineries.
Goldman Sachs estimates Indonesian aluminium production could rise fivefold by the end of the decade.
The question metals traders are now asking is whether Chinese capital can continue to pour investments into the country without ultimately tarnishing the outlook for the energy-intensive metal required for everything from soda cans to robotics and electric vehicles.
Nickel provides a cautionary tale. Indonesia accounted for roughly 7 per cent of global mine production a decade ago – it now accounts for closer to 60 per cent, thanks to cheap coal power and Chinese smelters.
Workers at Indonesia's Morowali Industrial Park, which hosts primarily nickel-related industries. Photo: Riza Salman
Having underestimated that rapid rise, metals giants like BHP Group have been forced to close operations in Australia and elsewhere. Even the Indonesian industry is now creaking under the weight of its own success.
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