By Dominikus
Guangdong Guangxin Shengte Investment Co., Ltd., a wholly owned subsidiary of Guangdong Guangxin Holding Group Co., Ltd., confirmed in early April 2025 that its Indonesia-focused nickel and stainless steel investments have entered a new phase of development marked by commissioning milestones, supply chain breakthroughs, and deepened cooperation with partners under China’s Belt and Road framework.
The company, which serves as the “board owner” for Guangxin Group’s nickel and stainless value chain, disclosed that multiple projects in North Maluku and Sulawesi achieved landmark progress throughout 2024 and early 2025, directly supporting China’s strategic access to critical battery materials and contributing to Guangdong’s clean energy ambitions.
Among the projects, the wet-process high-pressure acid leach (HPAL) facility under PT Guangqing Nickel & Cobalt in Weda Bay Industrial Park (IWIP), North Maluku, was fully launched in November 2024 and is currently undergoing construction in an orderly manner. Designed to produce 80,000 tonnes of nickel metal equivalent per year in the form of mixed hydroxide precipitate, the project is currently the only HPAL facility in Indonesia controlled by a Chinese provincial-level state-owned enterprise. It is positioned to strengthen China’s upstream control over nickel and cobalt resources, while supporting the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area’s electric vehicle battery supply chain.
In Sulawesi’s Qingshan Industrial Park—frequently referred to as IMIP in field reports—Shengte’s 49%-owned PT Guangchingde Metal Rolling completed its stainless steel rolling plant in a record 17 months and commissioned operations in September 2024. The facility, featuring a 1780mm strip production line with a 4-million-tonne annual capacity, produced its first coil on January 28, 2025. The plant also implemented a vapor-cooling retrofit to replace its conventional water-cooling system, reducing cooling water usage by 70%, minimizing thermal loss by 40%, and generating over 70,000 tonnes of reusable steam annually—offering both cost savings and carbon benefits.
Meanwhile, PT Guangqing Nickel Industry, Shengte’s 10%-owned smelting operation also based in Qingshan, delivered a 67.19% reduction in financial expenses in 2024 after adopting Guangxin Group’s "Three Precision Drives" lean model. These productivity and cost achievements are aligned with Guangxin’s broader goal of building a world-class lean enterprise and supporting China's development of new productive forces through high-efficiency industrial operations.
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In January 2025, Guangxin Group General Manager Liu Zhihong led an official delegation to Indonesia to inspect these three key sites. During visits to both IWIP and Qingshan, Liu met with project teams and key partners, including Tsingshan Holding Group Chairman Xiang Guangda. He emphasized the strategic importance of Shengte’s nickel-cobalt project as part of the group’s “second curve” investment in the energy transition space, and called on teams to accelerate delivery, maintain construction safety, deepen social inclusion for local Indonesian workers, and improve operational responsiveness to market signals. He further reinforced Guangxin’s commitment to industrial synergy with partners such as Huayou Cobalt, Qingshan, and Huaqing Aluminum, as well as to long-term stakeholder engagement in Southeast Asia.
In line with China’s push for high-quality Belt and Road development and efforts to strengthen the brand image of Chinese enterprises abroad, Guangxin Group has also made measurable progress in localizing its Indonesian operations. As of November 2024, its Indonesia project sites employed more than 8,900 local workers. The group actively promotes talent development and infrastructure support in project areas, including the construction of roads, power supply systems, and healthcare facilities, contributing to broader social and economic advancement in host communities.
By the end of Q1 2025, Shengte Investment holds equity in PT Guangqing Nickel Industry (10%), PT Guangchingde Metal Rolling (49%), and Guangdong Guangqing Metal Technology Co., Ltd. (25.619%), and maintains management control of PT Guangqing Nickel & Cobalt. Across these four key entities, the company spans the full industrial value chain from laterite nickel mining and smelting to rolling and hydrometallurgical refining. The company has also risen to become one of China’s top three nickel pig iron traders, leveraging independent supply networks and logistics coordination to scale its commercial impact.
Looking ahead, Shengte is advancing its “12345” strategic framework for 2025 to complete the final year of its 14th Five-Year Plan and launch into the 15th. This includes strengthening its nickel alloy business unit, delivering year-on-year growth in revenue and profits, pushing forward its “3+N” key projects, achieving breakthroughs in management and supply chain collaboration, and enhancing talent development as a source of long-term competitiveness. As it continues to support China’s industrial modernization, battery materials security, and low-carbon transformation, Shengte Investment has established itself as one of the most active and strategically placed Chinese SOEs operating in Indonesia’s resource and industrial sector.
Editing by Reiner Simanjuntak
