Hyundai Motor [005380:KS] and LG Energy Solution [3373220:KS] have secured a USD710m loan from five financial institutions at favorable interest rates to fund the building of their joint battery cell plant in Indonesia, as reported by the Korea Economic Daily on August 22. The ten-year financing would be provided in stages based on the pace of the battery plant’s construction. The factory, which will make NCMA (nickel, cobalt, manganese, and aluminum) lithium-ion battery cells, is planned to finish construction in 1H23 and begin commercial production in 1H24, with an annual capacity of 10 gigawatt-hours (GWh).

Indonesia, a major resource exporter, has huge reserves of nickel, one of the key ingredients for ternary lithium batteries. However, to protect its local industry, Indonesia has imposed export limits on a number of mineral resources, including nickel, since 2020. The restriction attracts investments to the country’s battery industry. CATL [300750:CH], a Chinese battery giant, announced in April that it will invest about USD6bn to develop an electric vehicle (EV) battery industrial chain in Indonesia that would include mining, smelting, raw materials, and battery recycling. Moreover, Toyota Motor [7203:JP] announced in July that it would invest USD1.8bn in Indonesia over the next five years to manufacture EVs. By 2025, the Indonesian government anticipates 400,000 electric automobiles and 1.76m electric motorcycles to be produced in the country.

Sources:

https://www.kedglobal.com/batteries/newsView/ked202208220017

http://auto.caijing.com.cn/2022/0728/4878511.shtml

https://36kr.com/p/1845437965093504