According to Reuters, Indonesia’s Maritime and Investment Coordinating Minister Luhut Panchaitan said today that Indonesia is finalizing a new set of incentives to attract investment from electric car manufacturers.
He also added that the government is in talks with major companies such as Tesla and BYD. The Indonesian incentives will be benchmarked against those offered by Thailand and Vietnam, it said, without providing specifics.
“Tomorrow we will finalize the incentives that we will give for any EV investment in Indonesia,” Luhut said, adding that they are awaiting approval from President Joko Widodo.
Luhut added that he will meet with BYD executives in Chengdu, China, on Thursday and plans to meet Tesla CEO Elon Musk in California, U.S., on Aug. 3.
Indonesia is the largest economy in Southeast Asia, and the local area has been trying to attract major electric vehicle manufacturers to invest in the country on the condition that the country has the world’s richest nickel reserves, but at present it is mainly some traditional car companies.
According to previous reports most automakers, such as China’s BYD, are more willing to choose to invest in Thailand, Vietnam, or even India, the auto centers in Southeast Asia.
Indonesia has been attracting investment from Tesla for years, hoping to make it the global automaker’s production hub in Asia. It has also been reported that Tesla is negotiating with Indian officials to invest in building a factory, but progress has been slow.
