Chinese companies, including Tsingshan Holding Group, China Hongqiao Group, and Shandong Nanshan Aluminum, are heavily investing in Indonesia's aluminum industry, replicating their prior impact on nickel, potentially reshaping global aluminum markets.

Driven by domestic production constraints, these Chinese firms are investing in building new smelters and refineries in Indonesia. Goldman Sachs projects Indonesia's aluminum output could quintuple by 2030.

This expansion, despite high investment costs for alumina refineries, aims to secure raw material supplies. Tsingshan, a major force in Indonesian nickel, began aluminum smelting in 2023 with a larger plant scheduled to begin production next year.

Although Indonesia has ample coal resources for power and cheap labor, its long-term sustainable development depends on sufficient bauxite mining to meet growing demand.