ASIATODAY.ID, JAKARTA – Minister of Investment/Head of the Indonesian Investment Coordinating Board (BKPM), Bahlil Lahadalia, revealed that two large companies in Europe, namely Eramet (France) and BASF (Germany) did not cancel investment but only postponed investment plans in the Sonic project Bay in North Maluku.
“Yesterday I just received the news. The investment was not revoked, but was temporarily postponed,” said Bahlil on the sidelines of the inauguration of the Central Leadership Council (DPP) of the Association of Catering Services Entrepreneurs (APJI) for the period 2024-2029 in Jakarta, Thursday evening.
Bahlil also denied the existence of rumors stating that BASF and Eramet had canceled investments worth US$ 2.6 billion in the electric vehicle battery raw material factory project in Weda Bay, Central Halmahera, North Maluku.
He admitted that his party was currently communicating with the two companies. According to him, the two companies did not cancel, but only postponed their investment in Indonesia due to the decline in the electric car sales market in Europe.
“Because people’s purchasing power for electric vehicles (EVs) in Europe is falling. So, the market is now falling due to competition with cars from other countries,” said Bahlil.
In fact, according to Bahlil, the decline in the electric car sales market is not only happening in Europe, it is also happening in the US. “And the US market is also currently sluggish. Because it is sluggish, demand for batteries is decreasing,” said Bahlil.
He also confirmed that to date the two companies have not withdrawn their investment plans in Indonesia.
“They haven’t withdrawn their investment, we are still in negotiations, in talks,” he said.
Bahlil further added that there were no concerns for other foreign investors due to the two companies delaying investment.
“This is just a problem of electric car commodities in Europe and the US which are down. All road investments, Korea, Japan, China have no problems, no issues,” said Bahlil. (ATN)
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