Indonesia’s ban on unrefined ore exports is loathed by competing producers and in breach of trade rules, but it is popular at home where international investors have built massive production centres.
They call him the Nickel King. Xiang Guangda, founder and chairman of Chinese giant Tsingshan Holdings, has invested billions of dollars in nickel processing in Indonesia, boosting exports and making it harder for higher-cost Australian miners to compete.
Indonesia’s exports of ferro nickel alloy, which is used to make stainless steel, climbed 38 per cent by volume in the first five months of last year after notching up a 42 per cent increase in the previous two years.
Indonesia’s ban on unrefined ore exports is loathed by competing producers like Australia and is a breach of global trade rules, but it is popular at home, where international investors led by Tsingshan have built massive production centres on the Indonesian islands of Sulawesi and Halmahera.
Some analysts believe Indonesia’s share of global nickel supply will increase from 50 per cent to as much as 70 per cent in coming years as new production facilities come online. Chinese companies involved in Indonesian processing sell exports back home, where demand continues to drive global nickel production.
For the rest of this article: https://www.afr.com/world/asia/this-billionaire-used-indonesia-s-nickel-to-squeeze-out-australia-20240109-p5ew2u