China?s Fuhai Group to build $10b smelter in RI

China?s steel company Fuhai Group plans to build a US$10 billion smelter in Indonesia following a ban on the export of mineral ores on January 12, Bisnis Indonesia daily reported Thursday.

Minister of Industry MS Hidayat was quoted as saying that visiting Fuhai Group Zhao Lizhi initially demanded for a reprieve from the export ban policy, allowing the company to export iron ore sands from its Indonesian mine, which is currently under exploration stage.

But Hidayat told the Chinese company to build domestic smelter instead, and promised that the government will help facilitate the licensing procedure, to which Lizhi responded positively. Lizhi promised to return next month to unveil the details of the smelter plan, which would possibly be built either in Lampung or Sukabumi (West Java), the minister said. (*)