China's Tsingshan to ramp up aluminium production in Indonesia in 2023 - CRU

China Hongqiao

08/06/2021 13:06

June 8 (Reuters) - Tsingshan Holding Group is set to ramp up
aluminium production in Indonesia in 2023, consultancy CRU said
on Tuesday, as the Chinese stainless steel and nickel group
diversifies operations in the country.  
    Tsingshan made a name for itself in the global nickel market
by investing heavily in Indonesia, which banned nickel ore
exports from 2020, and is involved in projects there to make
battery chemicals and nickel pig iron.
    The company currently produces no aluminium but is planning
to build a 1 million tonnes per year aluminium smelter with
Huafon Group at its industrial park on the Indonesian island of
Sulawesi. [https://reut.rs/3irKcGi
]
    CRU senior consultant Ying Dai said during a webinar
Tsingshan would ramp up capacity to 500,000 tonnes per year in
2023, without providing a time for the start of production.
    Tsingshan did not immediately respond to a request for
comment.     
    Dai said the company could take advantage of Chinese
technology in Indonesia and use its power plant for low-cost
coal-fired power. She said that a ceiling on smelting capacity
in China was another reason Chinese companies are looking abroad
to expand.  urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL2N2NL0RP
    Aluminium producers in China, the world's biggest metals
consumer, are coming under pressure to use cleaner power sources
for the energy-intensive smelting process and reduce emissions. 
    "We also think hydropower potential in Indonesia will also
bring another opportunity for aluminium smelting development
domestically," Dai said.
    Indonesia has already attracted companies, including China
Hongqiao Group  1378.HK , to refine aluminium raw material
alumina in the country thanks to its abundant bauxite reserves.
    Following nickel ore, Indonesia plans to ban exports of
bauxite, the main ore source of aluminium, from 2023 to boost
its downstream metals industry.  urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL4N2LL148
    Tsingshan has also been in talks to build a $2.8 billion
copper smelter with Freeport-McMoRan Inc  FCX.N  in Indonesia's
Weda Bay.  urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL1N2KA03R
    

 (Reporting by Fathin Ungku and Mai Nguyen; writing by Tom Daly.
Editing by Jane Merriman)
 ((tom.daly@thomsonreuters.com; +86 10 5669 2119;))