Column: Electric dreams turn into a nightmare for battery metals
A sector that was once racing to build new supply has been closing mines and deferring projects as low prices bite into the cost curve.
Indonesian metal and mining firm PT Trimegah Bangun Persada has raised about 10 trillion rupiah ($659 million) after pricing its initial public offering at the top of a marketed range, according to people familiar with the matter.
The company, also known as Harita Nickel, sold about 8 billion shares at 1,250 rupiah apiece, said the people, who asked not to be identified as the information is private. The firm has marketed as many as 8.1 billion shares at 1,220 rupiah to 1,250 rupiah each. The mining firm was considering pricing its IPO at the top of the range, Bloomberg News reported last week.
A representative for the company declined to comment.
The offering surpassed PT Pertamina Geothermal Energy as Indonesia’s biggest this year, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. The IPO happened at a time of high volatility in equities trading globally, and helps consolidate Southeast Asia’s largest economy as one of the most active markets for new share sales in Asia in 2023.
Harita operates the country’s first high-pressure acid leaching smelter on Obi island in North Maluku, according to its website. The HPAL process turns the local low-grade ore into mixed hydroxide precipitate — a form of nickel that can be further processed to make batteries. Its HPAL facility has a production capacity of 55,000 tons a year. Next year, a new plant would more than double its output to 120,000 tons.
The nickel industry sits at the heart of President Joko Widodo’s plan to develop an end-to-end EV supply chain onshore, with global carmakers from Hyundai Motor Co. and Mitsubishi Motors Corp. setting up EV plants in the country.
Harita Nickel shares are set to debut in Jakarta on April 12. Credit Suisse Group AG, BNP Paribas SA, Citigroup Inc. and PT Mandiri Sekuritas are joint global coordinators.
(By Filipe Pacheco and Yudith Ho)
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