PT Merdeka Battery Materials Tbk (MBMA) signed an MoU with the Korea Development Bank (KDB). Through this agreement, the Korean and Indonesian governments will deepen bilateral cooperation in the use of key mineral resources, the battery raw material supply chain, and other related industries.
The signing of the MoU between KDB and MBMA took place on the sidelines of the Korea-Indonesia secondary battery industry meeting in Jakarta. The meeting was attended by Kang Seok-hoon, Chairman of Korea Development Bank and Edwin Soeryadjaya, President Commissioner of MBMA.
“Through this collaboration, the Korea Development Bank will support Korean companies to secure long-term nickel supplies from Indonesia and smoothen the implementation of a number of collaborations between Korean companies and MBMA,” said a written statement from KBD.
“This agreement was reached for the purpose of supporting the efforts of the governments of both parties in encouraging mutually beneficial exchanges, including investment in the private sector as business partners. This MoU will encourage collaboration between MBMA and KDB to advance South Korean companies to evaluate investment potential in MBMA,” said Deny Greviartana, Corporate Secretary of MBMA.
MBMA is a public company that operates nickel mines and smelters used to produce secondary batteries. MBMA is currently building a battery factory that is integrated with a nickel mine. The factory is targeted to be completed in 2025.
The battery factory uses High Pressure Acid Leaching (HPAL) technology with a capacity of 60,000 tons and its construction requires an investment of US$ 1.28 billion. Once completed, the battery factory will contribute around 25% to the company’s EBITDA.
“Our main project is the development of a battery factory within our mining concession,” said Andrew Starkey, MBMA Director.
Meanwhile, KDB is a state-owned policy bank in South Korea which was founded in 1954 to supply and manage significant industrial capital to help develop the country’s economy.
Through this collaboration, KDB will be the main agent for developing economic cooperation between Korean and Indonesian companies to create a secondary battery industry ecosystem in Korea and Indonesia in the long term.
Deny explained that KDB will support investment from South Korean companies to MBMA in the form of investments in various options, including equity, term loans, partnership joint ventures or other financial arrangements. Meanwhile, MBMA will offer various collaboration opportunities with South Korean companies.
Edwin, on the other hand, also revealed that the collaboration between MBMA and KDB will support South Korean companies to secure long-term nickel supplies from Indonesia.
“This collaboration will smooth the implementation of a number of collaborations between South Korean companies and MBMA,” said Edwin, on September 11, 2023.
“Both parties collaborate on the same principles. MBMA and KDB will work together in good faith in various fields, including business opportunities to support the growth of the two countries’ battery materials industry and other related industries,” said Deny.
In this way, MBMA and KDB will build a reliable supply chain for nickel and mineral battery materials, so as to encourage the growth of each country’s sector in the downstream battery material value chain.
