RI Has Nickel Reserve Number One In The World, The Number Is Around 30 Percent Of The World Reserve

Deputy Minister of Trade Jerry Sambuaga. (Photo: Doc. ANTARA)

Deputy Minister of Trade (Wamendag) Jerry Sambuaga said, Indonesia has a very high opportunity to become an electric vehicle (EV) battery producer.

According to Jerry, Indonesia has the number one nickel reserves in the world with a total of approximately 30 percent of the world's reserves.

"Indonesia has the number one nickel reserves in the world, a total of approximately 30 percent of the world's reserves. With this potential, Indonesia has a very high chance of becoming a battery and lithium battery EV producer for electric vehicles," said Jerry, in Jakarta, Tuesday.

Jerry said the government had designed a major strategy to develop the EV industry in Indonesia. One of them is to create an electric car and electric vehicle (EV) ecosystem through Presidential Regulation Number 55 of 2019 concerning the Acceleration of the Battery Electric Vehicle (BEV) for Road Transportation.

The government has also provided incentives for consumers so that more people buy electric cars.

Some of them are Value Added Tax (VAT) discounts of up to 10 percent, Luxury Goods Value Added Tax (PPnBM) of 0 percent, a minimum down payment of 0 percent, and a low interest rate for electric vehicles.

According to Jerry, Indonesia is currently asking for support from developed countries, such as China, Japan, and Korea to provide assistance related to increasing human resources (HR) and exchanging information. It is hoped that ASEAN will be able to become one of the strong EV industries.

"We must maintain electric vehicles and local products. The government's alignment with local products must be shown and carried out," said Jerry.