[Ferro-Alloys.com] 

Tsingshan unit plans Indonesian battery plant as trade frictions mount

The battery unit of Tsingshan Holding Group Co., the world’s top nickel producer, plans to build a plant in Indonesia, the latest in a series of Chinese investments that will help the Southeast Asian nation step up from commodities production to more lucrative processing and manufacturing.

REPT BATTERO Energy Co.’s first overseas battery factory could be housed alongside Tsingshan’s existing operations in Weda Bay and may begin operating as soon as next year. The intention is to steal a march on rivals planning new capacity elsewhere in the world, and take advantage of its parent for raw materials and infrastructure. Locating in Indonesia could also head off concerns over trade frictions that threaten to disrupt exports from China.

• [Editor:邢亚敏]