Tin Smelters in Indonesia Furlough Staff as Rule Hits Trade

Tin smelters in Indonesia, the largest exporter, started to furlough staff in the biggest producing region as some companies have yet to meet a new rule requiring metal be traded on a local exchange before shipment.

“It’s hard for us, some smelters have stopped operations and put workers on furlough,” said Tjahyono Mukmin, president director of Serumpun Tin, a group of 18 producers that wants to sell their output through the Jakarta Futures Exchange, or JFX. Mukmin, speaking in a telephone interview, didn’t give an estimate of the number of workers affected.