PKB Faction DPR: Indonesia Obliged To Cooperate With South Korea In The Electric Car Industry

Illustration. (Photo: Unsplash)

JAKARTA - Chairman of Commission VI of the Indonesian Parliament Faisol Riza encourages cooperation between Indonesia and South Korea in developing the electric car industry because it is in line with Indonesia's commitment to develop environmentally friendly transportation technology.

Faisol stated that his party had met the Korean Ambassador on November 17, 2020 and discussed besides the pandemic, also investments such as electric vehicles and the battery industry.

"Hopefully this will be our alternative form of developing the electric car and battery industry," he said, quoted from Antara, Thursday, November 19.

He believes that the investment made by Hyundai and a number of other Korean companies will be able to help the Indonesian economy.

Moreover, he said, the Indonesian Parliament together with the government had passed the Omnibus Law on the Job Creation Law to create a conducive investment climate while providing legal certainty.

According to Faisol, with the enactment of the law, the investors from the country of Ginseng can invest in Indonesia again. Moreover, Indonesia and South Korea are waiting for the follow-up to the implementation of the Indonesia-Korea Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (IK-CEPA).

"We know there are many Korean investors and they exist in all sectors, because the presence of this law, investors, especially those from Korea, can see this as a form of cooperation in the future," he said.

It is hoped that this investment in the future will also contribute positively to the development of the electric car industry by becoming a supplier to major markets, particularly those in the ASEAN region.

Previously, Coordinating Minister for Maritime Affairs and Investment Luhut Binsar Pandjaitan said this week a South Korean company, LG Chem Ltd, will sign a cooperation agreement with Indonesia in developing lithium batteries for electric cars.

"This week, if there is no change, LG Korea will also sign (cooperation in developing electric car batteries)," he said in a webinar held by UGM, Tuesday, November 17.

The cooperation follows an agreement with Contemporary Amperex Technology Co. Ltd (CATL) from China which has also signed a collaboration with PT Inalum (Persero) for the development of lithium batteries for electric vehicles.

Luhut added that the Indonesian government also continues to approach many parties, including big players in the electric vehicle battery industry, to invest in Indonesia.

"Now we are also approaching others, the big player. We want to go where we are friends, whether he is China, is he America, or where," he said.

The former Coordinating Minister for Political, Legal and Security Affairs said Indonesia wants to be a key player in the electric vehicle battery industry because it has the largest nickel reserves in the world.

Indonesia is now starting to downstream nickel and it is hoped that electric vehicle battery production can begin by the end of 2023 or 2024.