China to build two steel plants in Indonesia

China Steel Resources Holding Company will build two steel factories with a combined capacity of three million tons per annum in Indonesia, an Indonesian official said.

The construction of the steel plants will be carried out in two stages within a span of five years with the first plant to be built in Banjarmasin, South Kalimantan.

"In the first stage, the steel plant to be built will have a capacity of 1.5 million tons in Banjarmasin. It will be followed by the construction of another plant with a capacity of 1.5 million tons in the second stage," Achmad Kurniadi of the Investment Coordinating Board (BKPM) said on the sidelines of an international convention of Chinese businessmen here on Friday.

He said the location of the steel plant that would be built in the second stage had not yet been decided.

"The investment license for the first stage in Banjarmasin which is close to the raw materials has been issued. For the second factory, the investor is till considering certain locations," he said.

Achmad hoped that Chinese investors attending the convention would be attracted to make their investment in other sectors such as the manufacturing and transportation sectors.

"The Chinese investors have looked at the mining sector in the country and we are waiting for their investments in the transportation sector as well," he added.

So far, Chinese investors generally invested in natural resource-based industries such as mining, plantation and fisheries, he said.

Running from July 18 to 19, 2008, the convention is being attended by representatives of 93 Chinese companies that have plans to visit Indonesia to explore investment possibilities in the trade, property, manufacturing, finance, energy and mineral sectors.

The Chinese companies are engaged in various fields of business or industry, namely 27 companies in the energy and mineral, 20 in the trade , 22 in the property, 22 in the manufacturing and five in the financial sectors.

source: Antara | July 2008