Bakrie: Indonesia Opens Doors for EV Investment
- VIVA.co.id/Mohammad Yudha Prasetya
Switzerland, VIVA – The Chairman of the Indonesian Chamber of Commerce and Industry (Kadin) and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Bakrie & Brothers (BNBR), Anindya Bakrie, emphasized that Indonesia is highly open as a business and investment destination, particularly in the electric vehicle (EV) sector.
Bakrie highlighted that, as a country with 17,000 islands and five major ones, Indonesia must build and develop industrial clusters to attract technology, talent, and investment.
"(The government cabinet) was just inaugurated 90 days ago, and one of its main agendas is to ensure proper downstreaming of every critical mineral," Bakrie said at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, on Tuesday (Jan 21).
By integrating Indonesia into the global EV supply chain, Bakrie believes it will positively impact the national economy.
However, he stated that geopolitical aspects should also be a key concern for global EV industry players as they relate to technological capacities.
In creating a robust and efficient supply chain, all players in the global EV industry need to remain realistic since many related technologies are still sourced from China.
Nonetheless, other potentials can still be explored, given that 60% of electric vehicle sales and 70% of electric vehicle battery sales are yet to be realized.
"China is a pioneer. However, we aim to balance this with the Western world. For instance, within our group, we have an initiative called INBC, the Industrial Net-Zero Battery Consortium, which focuses on the Western world," Bakrie stated.
"We believe that the Western world, including Europe, the US, and the UK, undoubtedly needs nickel battery materials," he concluded.