Indonesia EV ambition drives Q1 investment up

  Indonesia took in as much as Rp 328.9 trillion (US$22.38 billion) in realized foreign investments in
  the first quarter of 2023, or about 16.5% higher compared to the same period in the previous year,
  the country’s Ministry of Investment (BKPM) revealed Friday, April 28, 2023. 

  Foreign investments rose by 20.2% in the January to March period of this year compared to first
  quarter of 2022 to Rp 177 trillion, making up more than half of the total investments for the period,
  while domestic investments rose by 12.4% to Rp 151.9 trillion. BKPM aims to increase total
  investments from last year by 23.5% in 2023 to Rp 1,400 trillion. 

  “Looking at the growth of investments from the first quarter of 2023, I’m optimistic that Indonesia
  can achieve a 5% economic growth. Investments will continue to contribute significantly to our
  economic growth, despite predictions of a global downturn in 2023,” said Minister of Investment
  Bahlil Lahadalia. 

  The sectors of metal goods and mining were the top drivers of this year’s Q1 growth, with foreign
  investments to the metal goods industry taking up 24.3% of the share in FDI. Indonesia has been
  driving home its ambition to become a global hub for Electric Vehicle (EV) production in recent
  years by leveraging its nickel reserves – the largest in the world. Nickel is an integral component
  in the production of electric vehicle batteries. Chinese companies, in particular, have been setting
  up nickel refineries en-masse in the country’s nickel mining sites in the island of Sulawesi. 

  In line with this ambition, the country has also been aggressively courting various companies from
  across the EV supply chain to invest in the sector. German carmakers Volkswagen, along with
  German chemical company BASF and French mining company Eramet, were among the major
  companies who recently announced their intention to invest in the sector. Indonesia is also
  negotiating with electric vehicle producers BYD from China and Tesla from the US on their
  investment plans. 

  Investment in the mining sector also showed significant strength, contributing Rp 33.5 trillion in
  both foreign and domestic investments – the third highest. In terms of domestic investments, the
  mining sector contributed the highest with Rp 19.8 trillion, or 13.1%. 

  In the stock market, Indonesia mining sector has outrunned even Wall Street this year with as
  much as $1.45 billion recorded in Initial Public Offering (IPO) proceeds between January and
  March, the highest ever first-quarter – exceeding even Tokyo and London. These proceeds include
  the $672 million IPO by Harita Nickel, a jakarta-based mining company, and the $592 million raised
  IPO by Merdeka Battery Minerals, which is also based in Jakarta. More listings are expected in the
  sector, with Amman Mineral International, Indonesia’s second-largest copper and gold miner,
  planning an IPO of up to $1 billion in the coming months. 

  Source: Business-Indonesia 

  Indonesian, Malaysian Muslims celebrate Eid al-Fitr as COVID
 fears recede 

  Muslims in Indonesia and Malaysia gathered in large groups to usher in the Eid al-Fitr festival on
  Saturday, relieved to be able to celebrate freely after the lifting of most COVID-19 restrictions. 

  In Indonesia, the world's most populous Muslim-majority country, hundreds of worshippers turned
  up for morning prayers at the historic port of Sunda Kelapa in North Jakarta to mark the end of the
  fasting month of Ramadan. 

  "I'm very happy that we're free (of COVID curbs) now," said Laila, 35, who goes by one name like
  many Indonesians. 

  Another worshipper, 30-year old Adit Chandra, said: "I hope it gets better from here on, and that
  we can gather together with our families after the last three years of not being able to go back to
  our hometown". 

  Chandra is among the more than 120 million Indonesians - nearly half the country's population -
  who plan to travel from major urban centres to their hometowns for Eid al-Fitr. 

  That is about 44% more than the number of people who made the exodus last year, the
  government said. 

  In neighbouring Muslim-majority Malaysia, devotees also celebrated with families. 

  "We can visit the extended family, and do so without suspicious feelings ... during the pandemic
  we were cautious," said Khairul Soryati, a 39-year-old resident of Kuala Lumpur. 

  Muhd Nur Afham, 31, who works in Singapore said he could finally celebrate with the family in
  Malaysia this year after not being able to travel during the pandemic. 

  "I'm grateful I can meet with my families ... last time we only met through video call," he said. 

  Authorities in both countries have, however, urged the public to remain cautious amid reports of
  rising COVID cases. 

  Source: Reuters 

  Govt to increase DMO again for palm oil producers

  Crude palm oil (CPO) producers will be required to supply more of their output to the domestic
  market next month, if they want to maintain their export volumes. 

  The Trade Ministry said on Thursday that the ratio between output sold at home under the
  domestic market obligation (DMO) and that shipped overseas would change to 1:4 from the
  previous 1:6, meaning CPO producers will only be allowed to export four times as much as they
  sell in the domestic market, rather than six times as much. 

  This marks the second cut to the share available for the global market this year, as the ratio was
  1:9 for February. 

  “Why were the export rights cut? It’s not that we want to restrict exports, but we want to sustain
  the DMO policy, so as to maintain our domestic supplies,” the Trade Ministry's Policy Agency head,
  Kasan Muhri, told reporters on Thursday. 
 
  Also on Thursday, the ministry cut its target for the nationwide cooking oil DMO to 300,000 tonnes
  per month from 450,000 tonnes. 

  That is the same figure that had been in effect in January, before it was hiked to ensure sufficient
  domestic supplies of subsidized cooking oil under the Minyak Kita program over Ramadan and
  the Idul Fitri holiday. 

  The ministry said prices of domestic cooking oil had proven stable during the past months,
  including before and after the festive period. 

  The ministry’s domestic trade director general, Isy Karim, told reporters on Thursday that the
  government was also aware of the fact that some regions had yet to see the subsidized cooking oil
  price fall below the cap of Rp 14,000 (US$0.94) per liter, especially in eastern regions of the
  country. 

  He said the ministry was preparing incentives to ensure more producers were willing to supply to
  Eastern Indonesia, but that it might not be in the form of export quota rights. 

  “We worry that, if we grant more [shipment permits], that would lead to a flood of export quota
  rights,” Isy said. 

  As the world’s largest palm oil producer, Indonesia accounts for more than a third of global supply.
  Prior to its DMO policy, the country had pursued various policies aimed at stabilizing cooking oil
  prices for domestic consumers, often causing ripple effects in the global market. 

  While Indonesia sought to keep a larger portion of its CPO output at home, its closest neighbor
  Malaysia, the second-largest palm oil producer, stood to benefit by filling the global supply gap
  caused by Indonesia’s inward-looking policy. 

  Eddy Martono, secretary-general of the Indonesian Palm Oil Association (Gapki), told Kontan on
  April 5 that the government should review its DMO policy after Idul Fitri, especially if the domestic
  supply turned out to be sufficient. 

  He argued that a review may be necessary to prevent a CPO supply glut in the domestic market. 

  Source: The Jakarta Post