TOKYO: Indonesia’s aluminum exports to Japan have not stopped, even though the government took over full control of the sole smelter in the country from a Japanese consortium in 2013 saying it wanted to develop the resource for domestic consumption.
A Japan-based source familiar with the takeover negotiations had said during the time that the smelter was unlikely to export aluminum to Japan, ruling out talk in the market that sales relationship with the Japanese companies would continue after the ownership transfer, Platts has reported.
Indonesia’s sole aluminum smelting plant — PT Indonesia Asahan Aluminium or Inalum with a capacity of 250,000 mt/year — was 58.88% owned by a consortium of 11 Japanese companies and 41.12% by the Indonesian government. In November 2013, the Indonesian government took full ownership.
“The primary purpose of the Indonesian government taking over the smelter is to satisfy the growing local demand,” Japanese company official had said at the time of the takeover in 2013.
Inalum doesn’t export any aluminum directly to Japan, a company source said Thursday, but it does issue sell tenders offering cargoes to the international market.
The excess volumes are likely offered when local demand had been met, a Japan-based source said.
The company recently closed a sell tender offering over 5,000 mt of primary aluminum ingot for August loading. The award details were not immediately available.
Japanese customs data showed that Indonesia exported 9,502 mt of primary aluminum to Japan over January-June 2015. For the whole year of 2014, Indonesia’s primary aluminum exports to Japan stood at 26,592 mt, data showed.
