• Metals: Indonesia prepares to face the side effects of Philippines’ nickel export ban
The Philippine government’s plan to ban raw mineral exports including nickel starting Jun
25 is expected to impact the global nickel industry, including Indonesia. Despite being the
first nickel ore producer in the world, Indonesia still depends on Philippine nickel production
to supply its smelters. According to BPS data, Indonesia imported 10.26M tons of nickel ore
and concentrates in 11M24 with a Cost, Insurance, and Freight (CIF) value reaching USD
451.9M. The largest volume of imports came from the Philippines, namely 10M tons of nickel
ore and concentrate with a CIF value of USD 436.85M. Meanwhile, as the country with the
second largest nickel producer in the world, the closing of the export tap from the Philippines
is predicted to have an impact on nickel supplies at the global level. This will allegedly have
an effect on increasing prices, including the price of Indonesian nickel. (Kontan)
• BBTN allocates IDR 1T to build IT systems
Bank Tabungan Negara (BBTN) allocated IDR 1T to build information technology systems. By
upgrading the system from Power9 to Power10, BTN is expected to have a greater, faster,
and more accurate transaction capacity. The company also released the Super App Bale by
BTN, previously known as BTN Mobile. There is the implementation of several AI in the
application, including for credit. For example, the company now uses decision engines (AI
robots) to make credit decisions up to IDR 750M. Nevertheless, the company still expects to
recruit 600 workers this year, as it would need 13,000 employees, of which 10%-15% are
employees in the funding sector. Meanwhile, BTN’s current position still requires 1,000
workers in the funding sector. The company will also open more branches, as they now only
have around 700 branches while ideally, they would have 800-1,000 branches. The company
also focuses on cyber security, allocating 30% of the IDR 1T capex for this year. (Bisnis
Indonesia)
• ISAT posted IDR 4.91T net profit in 2024
Indosat (ISAT) posted a net profit of IDR 4.91T in 2024 (+9% yoy), in line with growth in revenue
of 9.1% to IDR 55.89T in 2024. Cellular revenues increased 7.5% to IDR 47.03T, which was
caused by an increase in data revenue and interconnection services which was offset by a
decrease in telephone revenue. Meanwhile, revenue from MIDI increased 23.4% to IDR 7.98T
due to an increase in fixed internet revenue, fixed connectivity and IT services. Meanwhile,
fixed telecommunications revenue fell 14.1% to IDR 864.4B. This was contributed by a
decrease in international telephone revenue, which was offset by an increase in fixed
network telephone calls. In addition, ISAT’s customer base decreased by 4.1M to reach 94.7M
in 2024. ARPU for cellular customers increased to IDR 38K in 2024, recording an increase of
6.6% or IDR 2.4K higher than 2023. Data traffic increased 12.2% in 2024. The company is
expanding its network infrastructure, increasing the number of 4G BTS to 196K to handle the
growth in data traffic effectively and provide the best experience for customers. (IDX
Channel)
