Business

Nickel talks: Indonesia’s president meets Elon Musk

Published

2 years ago

15/05/2022

MNN

President Widodo met with Tesla’s CEO Musk for a possible deal on a nickel source. Jakarta for years has been trying to secure a deal with Tesla on battery investment and potentially for Musk’s SpaceX aerospace company.

Indonesian President Joko Widodo met Tesla Inc Chief Executive Elon Musk in Texas to discuss potential investments and technology, Indonesia’s government said in a statement.

Saturday’s meeting between Musk and Widodo, better known as Jokowi, came after a round of working-level discussions on a potential investment in Indonesia’s nickel industry and supply of batteries for electric vehicles, Indonesian officials told Reuters news agency.

Representatives from Tesla were in Indonesia last week for meetings regarding a potential battery-related investment, Indonesian officials and two people familiar with the talks have said.

Tesla had no immediate comment.

Indonesia for years has been trying to secure a deal with Tesla on battery investment and potentially for Musk’s SpaceX aerospace company.

‘Hopefully in November’

Jokowi traveled from Washington, where he attended a meeting of leaders from the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), to meet Musk at the SpaceX launch site in Boca Chica, Texas. He invited the billionaire to visit Indonesia in November.

Jokowi is to host a summit of the Group of 20 big economies in Bali in November. “Hopefully in November,” the Indonesian government quoted Musk as saying.

Musk said there could be room for “partnerships in many things, because Indonesia has a lot of potential”, the statement said.

Indonesia has the world’s biggest nickel reserves, and Jokowi is keen to develop a nickel-based EV industry at home: from making nickel metal, to producing battery components and assembling electric vehicles. In the past, he has also urged Musk to consider a rocket launch site in Indonesia.

Two deals over the past month have given new momentum to Jokowi’s push to develop an EV-related industry at a time when global automakers have been scrambling to secure supplies of battery materials and reduce their reliance on China.

A consortium led by South Korea’s LG Energy Solution Ltd , the global No. 2 maker of EV batteries, announced plans last month to invest $9 billion in Indonesia as part of a deal that would include everything from nickel refining to producing battery cells in Indonesia.

LG’s larger rival, China-based Contemporary Amperex Technology, a Tesla supplier, announced a $9-billion Indonesia investment in April.

Source: TRT World

Business

TMA becomes first Asian operator to receive Havilland Certificate

Published

4 hours ago

08/05/2024

Trans Maldivian Airways (TMA), the world’s largest seaplane operator, receives De Havilland Canada’s endorsement certificate, making it the first operator in Asia to achieve the recognition.

At the official endorsement ceremony held last Sunday, De Havilland’s Chief Executive Officer Brian Chafe awarded the endorsement to TMA Chief Executive Officer A.U.M Fazy.

De Havilland owners Sherry Brideson and Robert McDonald, along with senior representatives of the Canada’s aerospace company and TMA officiated the ceremony.

TMA Chief Fauzy had thanked De Havilland’s continued support with its Twin Otters, elevating the operator’s success.

De Havilland CEO highlighted TMA’s success of completing two million flight cycles, which he added is unprecedented anywhere else.

The Canadian aerospace company affirmed continued support to TMA in future as well.

Source(s): sun.mv

Business

BML announce new MVR 1-mil loan facility without collateral

Published

2 days ago

06/05/2024

The Bank of Maldives (BML) on Monday officially announced the launch of two new home loan products; the Home Build Loan and the Home Equity Loan.

The new loan facilities have been introduced to cater to the growing customer needs for home construction and renovation, BML said.

The new Home Build Loan has been designed to allow individuals to borrow up to MVR 1 million without any additional security. The facility provides a repayment period of over 15 years, which is ideal in renovation projects or larger home construction projects across the Maldives.

The bank also, for the first time, has introduced Home Equity Loan for existing Home Loan and Financing customers. This new facility enables these customers to borrow up to the repaid amount, or the usable equity, of the primary loans. The Home Equity Loan is offered for borrowings of more than MVR 50,000 with a repayment period of 20 years.

Moosa Nimal, the Director of Retail and SME Banking said, “These products are designed to make access to finance easier for our customers across the country.”

“The new Home Build Loan does not require any additional security and will allow customers to build or renovate homes at the most competitive market rates. Our Home Equity Loan offers our existing home financing customers to access usable equity available on their property, at a low rate of just 10%.”

The newly introduced loan facilities are available for BML Islamic customers as well.

Source(s): sun.mv

Business

MIB signs an agreement to expedite business registration process

Published

4 days ago

04/05/2024

Ministry of Economic Development and Trade and the Maldives Islamic Bank (MIB) has entered an agreement, aiming to expedite and streamline the registering services for businesses. The agreement was signed to enhance the quality of services, ensure information security, and facilitate an efficient registration process.

Following the signing of the agreement, Minister of Economic Development and Trade Mohamed Saeed disclosed that customer data can be readily verified with the assistance of the ministry’s Application Programming Interface (API). The minister stated that this would enable businesses to set up bank accounts in a convenient manner. Regarding this, Registrar of Companies Mariyam Waheed underscored the pivotal role API will play in authenticating businesses to customers and expediting in the verification process.

This initiative will significantly benefit individuals accessing online services from the ministry, fostering economic development within the nation. This marks the first agreement of its kind signed by the ministry.