Chinese Tycoons Are Turning Indonesia Into an Aluminum Giant

Chinese tycoons are turbo-charging Indonesia’s aluminum industry with multi-billion dollar projects that rival the vast bets made on the country’s nickel riches roughly a decade ago, and threaten to shake up the global market for the metal.

Grappling with production curbs back home, companies like billionaire Xiang Guangda’s Tsingshan Holding Group Co., China Hongqiao Group Ltd. and Song Jianbo’s Shandong Nanshan Aluminum Co. are turning to Southeast Asia’s largest economy, ploughing cash into new smelters and refineries. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. estimates Indonesian aluminum production could rise five-fold by the end of the decade.