LG Energy pulls out of $11 billion Indonesia EV battery project
London – LG Energy Solution withdrew from an 142 trillion rupiah (S$11 billion) partnership with Indonesia to build a full electric vehicle battery supply chain, a blow to the country's ambitions to become a major hub for the technology.
The South Korean firm pulled out due to various factors including 'market conditions and investment environment,' it said in a statement on April 21. The memorandum of understanding for the so-called Grand Package project was signed in 2020, and envisaged a suite of investments in cooperation with Indonesian state-owned enterprises.
LG's withdrawal is a setback for Indonesia, which has tried to leverage its large reserves of battery metal nickel to draw investment from foreign firms. The South-east Asian nation is already dealing with the fallout of the new US tariffs, as well as broader investor anxiety about policies under President Prabowo Subianto.
LG Energy Solution said it would continue to explore areas of collaboration with the Indonesian government. In 2024, the firm opened the country's first battery cell plant with Hyundai Motor Group. BLOOMBERG
Join ST's Telegram channel and get the latest breaking news delivered to you.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
CNA
2 hours ago
- CNA
India plans to ban online games played with money, citing addiction risks
NEW DELHI :India's government plans to ban online games played with money, a proposed bill showed on Tuesday, in what would be a heavy blow for an industry that has attracted billions of dollars of foreign investment. Citing psychological and financial harm it says can be caused by such games, the Promotion and Regulation of Online Gaming Bill 2025 says that no person "shall offer, aid, abet, induce or otherwise indulge or engage in" the offering of online money games and such services. The 13-page bill, which has not yet been made public but has been reviewed by Reuters, describes an online money game as one played by a user by depositing money in expectation of winning monetary and other enrichment. The Indian market for such gaming is set to be worth $3.6 billion by 2029, venture capital firm Lumikai says. Endorsements by top Indian cricketers and other marketing efforts have boosted appeal and investor interest of real money gaming apps such as the popular fantasy cricket games operated by startups Dream11 and Mobile Premier League. Dream11 commands a valuation of $8 billion while Mobile Premier League is valued at $2.5 billion, PitchBook data shows. The Indian government has long been concerned about how such games are addictive. India's IT ministry, which has drafted the bill, did not immediately respond to a request for comment. MPL and Dream11 declined to comment. In fantasy cricket games on Dream11, users create their teams by paying as little as 8 rupees (10 U.S. cents), with a total prize pool of 1.2 million Indian rupees ($14,000). The apps become more popular during the Indian Premier League season, one of the world's most popular cricket tournaments. The bill states that anyone who offers such money games could face a jail term of up to three years and a fine. "Such games often use manipulative design features, addictive algorithms ... while promoting compulsive behaviour leading to financial ruin," the bill said.
Straits Times
3 hours ago
- Straits Times
Ukrainians to keep propping up Poland's labour market, Fitch says
FILE PHOTO: Refugees brave the cold in a frozen field after they fled from Ukraine because of the Russian invasion at the border checkpoint in Medyka, Poland, March 1, 2022. REUTERS/Kai Pfaffenbach/File Photo WARSAW - Most Ukrainian refugees living in Poland are likely to stay there even if Ukraine reaches a ceasefire deal with Russia, meaning they will continue to prop up the Polish economy, where the public finances remain a key concern, according to Fitch Ratings. Poland, one of Ukraine's Western neighbours, is still host to about 1 million Ukrainian refugees who fled after Russia invaded their homeland in February 2022. They have helped fuel Poland's tight labour market and boost economic growth, according to observers, a trend Fitch sees continuing. "We don't see that that's going to change much because they are very well-integrated into the Polish labour market. So even if there was a ceasefire tomorrow, we really don't see that many Ukrainian refugees coming back to Ukraine," Milan Trajkovic, Fitch Ratings' analyst for Poland told Reuters. "We are pretty much certain that a big percentage of these people is actually going to stay in Poland and contribute to the Polish labour market and GDP growth and, of course, other macroeconomic and fiscal variables," he said. Fitch analysts forecast Poland's economic growth at 3% in 2025, 3% in 2026 and 3.1% in 2027. The Polish government expects the growth of 3.4%, 3.5% and 3.0% respectively. As well as the million or so refugees, anywhere from several hundred thousand to more than 1 million more Ukrainians were living in Poland before the war, according to various estimates. Poland is counting on its growing economy to help it tame a bloated fiscal deficit, which came in at 6.6% of economic output last year, missing the government's 5.7% target for the year set out in its fiscal consolidation plan. It has pledged to bring the shortfall down below 3% by 2028. Top stories Swipe. Select. Stay informed. Singapore NDP 2026 to be held at National Stadium to accommodate more Singaporeans Singapore Girl, 14, among 3 injured after minibus falls into Bukit Panjang canal Singapore Man to be charged after allegedly slashing another man with Swiss knife at City Plaza Singapore What led to Changi Airport runway incident involving 2 China Eastern Airlines planes in Aug 2024 Singapore FairPrice apologises after worm found in salmon bought from Bedok North outlet Singapore Married man who offered cash to 12-year-old girl for sexual acts gets 19 months' jail Singapore Recruits on Pulau Tekong to get six hours of drone training as part of new programme "The biggest the rating perspective would be the failure to implement the fiscal consolidation plan leading to the stabilization of the public debt. And this is our main negative rating sensitivity," Trajkovic said. Trajkovic called Poland's deficit miss for 2024 "a much worse starting point." He cautioned that fiscal rigidities such as social spending and public wages, which accounted for the biggest increases in government outlays, in addition to military spending and growing interest payments, made lowering the shortfall harder. "For this year, we are projecting the deficit to remain the same at the level of around 6.6%... We see it coming down to around 4%, maybe 4.5% of GDP by 2028." Poland's debt should stabilise at around 65% of GDP in 2028 or 2029, according to Trajkovic. Brussels expects governments around the EU to target deficits of no more than 3% of GDP and public debt equivalent to no more than 60% of economic output. He said however that Poland's solid track record in state finances still worked in its favour, adding that its external balance sheet has helped it keep its "A-" rating. Fitch is scheduled to publish its rating review for Poland on September 5. "We don't see Poland as a country that would suddenly give up its prudent economic policymaking for a long period of time. And I think the markets share that view as well," he said. "It's the highest-growing European economy for decades now. And ... one thing you know about Poland is, Poland is going to grow." REUTERS
Straits Times
4 hours ago
- Straits Times
US targets steel, copper, lithium imports under Uighur forced labour law
Sign up now: Get ST's newsletters delivered to your inbox FILE PHOTO: A view shows the U.S. Department of Homeland Security signage in New York City, U.S., July 21, 2025. REUTERS/Jeenah Moon/File Photo WASHINGTON - The Trump administration on Tuesday said it was targeting more imports of Chinese goods, including steel, copper and lithium, for high-priority enforcement over alleged human-rights abuses involving the Uighurs. The Department of Homeland Security, in a post on X, said it was also designating caustic soda and red dates for high-priority enforcement under the Uighur Forced Labour Prevention Act. "The use of slave labour is repulsive and we will hold Chinese companies accountable for abuses and eliminate threats its forced labor practices pose to our prosperity," US Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem said separately on X. The Uighur-related law restricts the import of goods tied to what the US describes as China's human-rights abuses and ongoing genocide in the Xinjiang Uighur Autonomous Region. US authorities say Chinese authorities have established internment camps for Uighurs and other religious and ethnic minority groups in China's western Xinjiang region. Beijing has denied any abuses. REUTERS
