Built with US$2.7 billion in Chinese investment, inaugurated by then-President Joko Widodo in 2021 and designated a National Strategic Project, the smelter was supposed to prove that Indonesia could move beyond exporting raw ore and become a manufacturing powerhouse.Its latest troubles tell a different story. The Jakarta Commercial Court recently placed GNI under temporary debt restructuring after petitions from two shipping companies over unpaid obligations.
The timing is telling. GNI is affiliated with Jiangsu Delong Nickel Industry, one of China’s largest stainless steel producers, which has itself been struggling financially. Whether GNI ultimately recovers is less important than what its predicament says about the direction of Indonesia’s broad nickel industry.