On April 15, Contemporary Amperex Technology Co.Limited(300750) announced that the board of directors of the company approved on April 14 that the subsidiary intends to invest in the power battery industry chain project in Indonesia in cooperation with the three parties, with a total investment amount of no more than US $5.968 billion, of which Contemporary Amperex Technology Co.Limited(300750) plans to invest about US $3.937 billion.
It is disclosed that the project will cover the industrial chain layout of nickel mining and smelting, battery recycling, ternary material production and battery manufacturing.
Contemporary Amperex Technology Co.Limited(300750) said that the implementation of the project is conducive to further improving the company’s strategic layout in lithium new energy industry, ensuring the supply of key upstream resources and raw materials, reducing the company’s production costs and promoting the layout of the company’s battery recycling industry.
hold “nickel” as king
“Indonesia plays an important role in the global sources of nickel metals. The Contemporary Amperex Technology Co.Limited(300750) layout in Indonesia may be partly due to the strategic guarantee of upstream resources.” Xu Qiyong, chief analyst of Hua’an metal materials, told the reporter of Securities Daily.
China’s nickel ore resources are scarce and mainly rely on imports from Indonesia and other places. Data show that the reserves of laterite nickel ore in Indonesia account for 18.7% of the total global reserves, and the output accounts for nearly one third of the world.
The Indonesian investment plan disclosed by Contemporary Amperex Technology Co.Limited(300750) includes the whole battery industry chain project of nickel ore development, namely laterite nickel development.
It is reported that Contemporary Amperex Technology Co.Limited(300750) this Indonesian investment plan includes six industrial integrated battery industry chains, including laterite nickel ore development, smelting, precursor, ternary battery materials, battery recycling and ternary battery. Among them, the nickel mine development project is Contemporary Amperex Technology Co.Limited(300750) equity participation project (proposed to hold 49%), and the other projects are company holding projects (shareholding ratio of 60% to 70%). The total investment of the project will reach US $5.968 billion, of which the total investment of Contemporary Amperex Technology Co.Limited(300750) proposed is about US $3.937 billion.
Contemporary Amperex Technology Co.Limited(300750) will cooperate with two Indonesian state-owned enterprises, one of which is antam, the Indonesian state-owned mining company, and the other is IBI, which is an investment company newly established by Indonesia national electric power company, national mining company and related parties to carry out battery production.
It is worth mentioning that the amount involved in the Indonesian cooperative investment project, including the acquisition of mining equity, has not been determined. Therefore, the investment amount currently announced does not include the relevant amount. In the other six projects, only the construction period of battery materials is disclosed, which is expected to be from 2022 to 2026.
Regarding this investment, Zeng Yuqun, chairman of Contemporary Amperex Technology Co.Limited(300750) said, “Indonesia power battery industry chain project is a milestone for Contemporary Amperex Technology Co.Limited(300750) in its global strategic layout, and we are full of confidence in the future development of the project.”
In fact, as early as the end of 2020, foreign media reported that the Indonesian government revealed that Contemporary Amperex Technology Co.Limited(300750) plans to invest US $5 billion in lithium battery factories in Indonesia. Not only that, Tesla has also been reported to invest in battery plants in Indonesia.
Analysts pointed out that in recent years, in order to develop its own industry, Indonesia began to restrict the export of nickel. Against this background, many lithium battery manufacturers began to invest and build factories in Indonesia. Indonesia hopes to take this opportunity to establish a complete nickel ore supply chain such as chemical plants and manufacturing projects needed to refine batteries, develop its own industry, and finally become a global lithium battery production base.
promote internationalization and strengthen strategic reserve
Zhang Xiang, President of the New Energy Vehicle Technology Research Institute of Jiangxi new energy technology vocational college, told the Securities Daily that Contemporary Amperex Technology Co.Limited(300750) as the world’s largest battery manufacturer, occupies half of the Chinese market. Although the current epidemic has a short-term impact, under the long-term and rapid development trend of the whole new energy industry, it is very important to increase the protection of upstream resources.
According to the data, although the price of electrolytic nickel has been corrected compared with the abnormal fluctuation in early March, it is still maintained at a high level. According to the data of Changjiang nickel network, on April 15, the spot price of electrolytic nickel in many places remained at 234000 yuan / ton; In the same period last year, the spot price of electrolytic nickel was about 120000 yuan / ton, an increase of more than 100000 yuan / ton.
Xu Qiyong said that nickel accounts for a large proportion of the cost of new energy batteries. According to the calculation, the cost of each ton of nickel increases by 100000 yuan, which is transmitted to the battery factory, and the cost of a single car with 50 degrees of electricity should increase by at least 3000 yuan to 4000 yuan.
An insider told the reporter of Securities Daily that not only nickel, but also new energy metals, cobalt, lithium and other industrial chain resources and raw materials are facing price rise pressure. At present, the rise of new energy resources and raw materials has attracted the attention of relevant national ministries and commissions, and is gradually guiding the return of prices, but the short-term cost pressure will still exist. In addition, with the gradual control of the epidemic, the contradiction of supply chain shortage will continue.
The insiders further said that at present, high nickel ternary battery is still the main advantageous technical route of Contemporary Amperex Technology Co.Limited(300750) and compared with lithium iron phosphate battery, high nickel ternary battery is mainly for the demand of high-end models. With the continuous promotion of Contemporary Amperex Technology Co.Limited(300750) internationalization process, there is a higher demand for the supply of upstream resources, which is also a reason for Contemporary Amperex Technology Co.Limited(300750) investing in Indonesia.
