Coordinating Minister for the Economy Airlangga Hartarto reveals that Indonesia’s Indorama Corporation is set to invest US$2 billion (Rp34 trillion) in the United States to develop a blue ammonia project in Louisiana, a move part of the company’s global expansion strategy and a response to increasing U.S. trade barriers.

He cited that Indorama’s investment is aimed at mitigating the impact of a new 32 percent import tariff imposed by President Donald Trump under his latest reciprocal trade policy targeting Indonesia.

“Indorama is a multi-product company. From its roots in Purwakarta, it has expanded to various countries, including the U.S., where it operates a Polyethylene terephthalate (PET) plant that produces beverage bottles,” Airlangga said on Monday, April 28, 2025.

The planned project, currently in the front-end engineering design (FEED) phase, will focus on producing blue ammonia − an environmentally friendly alternative to traditional ammonia, made using carbon capture technology to minimize greenhouse gas emissions.

Indorama is a global producer of raw materials for fertilizers, polymers, fibers, yarns, and medical gloves, with manufacturing facilities spread across the globe.

Brief history

Founded in 1975 by M.L. Lohia in Indonesia, Indorama launched its first cotton yarn spinning mill in 1976. Over time, the company diversified its operationsm namely producing disposable gloves by 1989, and in 1991, it built Indonesia’s first polyester fiber plant. Four years later, it pioneered the country's first PET plastic bottle manufacturing facility.

International expansion followed in 1998 with a modern textile spinning plant in Turkiye, and in 2004, the company established its first upstream petrochemical plant for PTA production in Thailand.

Indorama’s growth continued through acquisitions, including a leading olefin company in Nigeria in 2006, and in 2010, it launched Indorama Ventures. The company then entered Uzbekistan in 2011 with a new yarn spinning unit and expanded into spandex production in India and acquisitions in Malaysia by 2012.

Between 2014 and 2023, Indorama aggressively expanded its fertilizer operations, acquiring and establishing facilities in Senegal, Nigeria, India, Uzbekistan, Brazil, and Georgia. Most recently in 2023, it acquired JSC FerganaAzot in Uzbekistan, TAK-Agro in Nigeria, and Rustavi Azot in Georgia.

Indorama’s latest blue ammonia venture in the U.S. signals a continued commitment to green innovation and strategic positioning in global markets, particularly amid rising protectionist policies.