KONTAN.CO.ID - JAKARTA. Indonesia's government is in early discussions with electric vehicles maker Tesla Inc about a potential investment in the Southeast Asia country, a major producer of nickel, an official said. Indonesia is keen to develop a full supply chain for nickel at home, especially for extracting battery chemicals, making batteries and eventually building EVs. It has stopped exports of unprocessed nickel ore to support investment in its domestic industries.
Ayodhia Kalake, a senior official at the Coordinating Ministry for Maritime and Investment, said Tesla had reached out to the government informally about a possible venture, but he did not specify what it had in mind. "It was still an early discussion and was not detailed yet," Ayodhia said in a statement on Monday. "We need further discussion with Tesla," he said, adding that Indonesia has a number of incentives for investment in EVs. Tesla did not immediately respond to a Reuters email seeking confirmation. Read Also: Oil prices claw back 2% after upbeat signals from Trump doctors Indonesia last month said it had secured a deal to build a lithium battery plant in the country with South Korean LG Chem Ltd and China's Contemporary Amperex Technology Ltd (CATL).
