Indonesian President Jokowi Meets with Business Leaders First

First Schedule in Korea: Attending 'B20 Business Dialogue'

Domestic Companies Discuss Investment and Cooperation
POSCO Expands Steel Business
MOU for Participation in New Capital Construction

Consortium Including LG Energy Solution
11 Trillion Won Invested in Electric Vehicle Battery Value Chain

Indonesian President Joko Widodo is moving to the conference room to attend the 'Korea-Indonesia Business Roundtable' held at Lotte Hotel in Jung-gu, Seoul on the 28th. Photo by Kang Jin-hyung aymsdream@

Joko Widodo (Jokowi), the president of Indonesia, the world's fourth most populous country and an increasingly important economic partner of South Korea, met with major domestic business leaders to discuss investment and cooperation plans in Indonesia.

As his first schedule after arriving in South Korea, President Jokowi attended the "Korea-Indonesia B20 Business Dialogue" held on the morning of the 28th at the Lotte Hotel in Sogong-dong, Seoul. The event was attended by top executives and economic organization officials from major domestic companies, including Sohn Kyung-shik, chairman of the Korea Employers Federation; Kim Hak-dong, vice chairman of POSCO; Noh Jin-seo, CEO of LX Holdings; and Woo Tae-hee, executive vice president of the Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industry (and executive committee member of the private sector supporting the bid for the 2030 Busan World Expo). The B20 Business Dialogue was organized as a platform for business leaders from both countries to present practical policy recommendations from a corporate perspective to the G20 nations, in connection with the upcoming G20 summit to be held in Bali, Indonesia, this November.

During the meeting, investment and cooperation plans by Korean companies in Indonesia were discussed. In particular, POSCO, a leading domestic steel company, decided to expand its steel business in Indonesia and participate in the new capital city construction project. On this day, POSCO signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with the Indonesian government and the state-owned steel company Krakatau Steel regarding the expansion of steel production capacity and participation in the new capital city construction project. POSCO and Krakatau Steel will jointly invest $3.5 billion (approximately 4.565 trillion KRW) over the next five years to establish the second blast furnace and a cold rolling mill for Krakatau POSCO. At the event, Kim Hak-dong, vice chairman of POSCO, said, "With the cooperation of the Indonesian government and Krakatau Steel, we are building the second blast furnace of POSCO's first overseas integrated steel mill," adding, "We will strive for the success of Krakatau POSCO's steel business, the realization of the 10 million ton steel cluster vision in Cilegon, Indonesia, and the construction of Indonesia's new capital city."

Hyundai Motor Company completed its factory located in the Bekasi Deltamas industrial complex in March. This established the first complete vehicle production base in the ASEAN (Association of Southeast Asian Nations) region. The LG consortium, consisting of LG Energy Solution (LGES), LG Chem, LX International, POSCO Holdings, and Huayou, plans to invest 11 trillion KRW in Indonesia to build an electric vehicle battery value chain covering minerals, refining, precursor, cathode materials, and cell production. LGES is also constructing a battery factory with an annual capacity of 10 GWh in Indonesia in partnership with Hyundai Motor. The factory is scheduled to be completed in the first half of 2023 and begin mass production from the first half of the following year.

Cooperation between South Korea and Indonesia is strengthening. Indonesia is one of the most important countries in ASEAN. It is a resource-rich country and the world's fourth most populous nation, with the largest deposits of nickel, a key material for electric vehicle batteries. Last year, the trade volume between the two countries reached $19.3 billion (approximately 25.1729 trillion KRW), ranking 14th among South Korea's trading partners and fourth among the 10 ASEAN member countries, following Vietnam, Singapore, and Malaysia. Indonesia is a resource-rich country with raw materials accounting for 41% of its total exports.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.