S. Korea to invest in RI smelters: Minister
Tuesday, October 1 2013 - 04:03 AM WIB
The Chinese are not the only ones interested in investing in smelters in Indonesia to process and refine mineral ores, as industry power house South Korea has also expressed similar interest, Coordinating Minister for the Economy Hatta Rajasa said.
Hatta said that South Korean investors are expected to invest up to US$10 million to build smelters in Indonesia to process nickel, bauxite and zinc.
He made the statement on Monday following his visit to South Korea last week.
?Because they (Korean businessmen) realized that Indonesia is very serious to ban the export of mineral ores,? Hatta said.
The government as mandated by the 2009 mining law has stated that it would ban the export of mineral ores starting 2014, requiring miners to process the ores first at domestic smelters prior to export in a bid to generate greater value added from mining commodities. This has created investment opportunities in developing domestic smelting facilities.
Editing by Reiner Simanjuntak