JAKARTA, July 26 — Indonesian President Joko Widodo has launched the second phase of an industrial complex in Central Java intended to attract investors looking to diversify their supply chains away from China.
The Batang Industrial Park already hosts nearly 20 companies in 10 per cent of its total area of 4,300 hectares, including South Korea’s LG Energy Solution and glass maker KCC Glass, and they have started construction or have pledged to build factories there.
Jokowi, as the president is commonly known, said companies have invested 14 trillion rupiah (US$860 million or RM4 billion) so far. Now, another 400 hectares will be offered for investors to create manufacturing jobs.
“We have to open as many jobs as possible for our people,” he said.
According to tax rules for industrial parks, companies investing in the Batang park can get tax breaks for machinery imports.
LG Energy Solution will start producing cathode in September, an essential component for electric vehicle batteries.
Jokowi previously said the company would build a US$2.4 billion (RM11.17 billion) factory in the Batang park to produce 220,000 tonnes of precursor and 42,000 tonnes of cathode per year.
He said that would provide the main raw material for its planned US$3.6 billion (RM16.76 billion) 200 gigawatt-hour battery cell plant in the industrial town of Karawang in West Java.
— Reuters
