Ministry of Industry: GNI Smelter to Obtain New Financing by Mid-August
Tue 12 Aug 2025, 02:29 AM
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The Ministry of Industry revealed that new funding for a subsidiary of the Chinese conglomerate group, Jiangsu Delong Nickel Industry Co, namely PT Gunbuster Nickel Industry (GNI) is likely to be completed in mid-August 2025.
The Director General of the Metal, Machinery, Transportation Equipment and Electronics Industry (ILMATE) of the Ministry of Industry, Setia Diarta, said that PT GNI's meeting with its creditors is scheduled for the middle of this month.
"We received news that the meeting was scheduled for mid-August," said Setia when asked for confirmation, quoted on Tuesday (12/8/2025).
Previously, Setia emphasized that until the funding process by the new investor is completed, PT GNI will remain a subsidiary of Jiangsu Delong, which has been facing financial issues in its home country of China since last year.
“During the transition process, funding will still come from Jiangsu Delong.”
Management Handover
Setia elaborated that on January 18, 2025, PT GNI implemented a policy of changing or handing over company management.
"This policy affects the raw material [nickel ore supply], the selection of raw materials, where the new management is focused on selecting materials that meet better, higher standards," he said.
Since the change of management at the beginning of the year, said Setia, PT GNI has indeed cut production to 30%-40% of the installed capacity of their pyrometallurgical smelter, or from 25 production lines to only 12 lines in use.
"The core issue is not due to any unfavorable conditions, relaxation policies, or anything else. It is primarily because the new management is more selective in choosing raw materials," he added.
Separately, the Indonesian Nickel Miners Association (APNI) revealed that the Danantara Investment Management Agency (BPI Danantara) might form a consortium with Chinese companies to jointly acquire assets owned by PT GNI.
APNI Mining Advisory Board member Djoko Widajatno revealed that news of Danantara's planned acquisition of the GNI smelter is still developing. The investment management body is reportedly awaiting stakeholder approval and due diligence.
"This process is currently in the evaluation and due diligence stage, with plans to collaborate with MIND ID, the parent company of a state-owned mining company, as the main partner in the acquisition," Djoko said when contacted, quoted on Tuesday (12/8/2025).
Djoko also revealed the possibility of Danantara collaborating with a Chinese company, as the GNI acquisition is expected to be quite costly. However, Djoko has not received any updates on funding negotiations from the financial consortium.
"Based on the information we have, there might be a consortium from China working together with Danantara," Djoko added.
According to Djoko, Danantara will provide initial funding for the GNI acquisition of approximately USD 20 billion. In addition to Danantara, Djoko said, GNI will also receive funding from a USD 60 million syndicated loan to support medium-term liquidity.
"Until now, PT GNI is still officially under Jiangsu Delong Nickel Industry Co., a parent company from China," Djoko emphasized, emphasizing that the acquisition process has not been completed.
Meanwhile, BPI Danantara Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Rosan Roeslani previously confirmed that he was open to acquiring the PT GNI smelter. The investment plan is currently under review.
Rosan stated that Danantara is indeed considering investing in a similar downstream project. If the smelter owned by a subsidiary of Jiangsu Delong meets the investment criteria, he emphasized, Danantara could invest in PT GNI.
"There are several projects in the pipeline that we're looking at. Well, we'll just see if they're feasible and good. We'll review them all," Rosan said when met at the Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources on Tuesday (July 22, 2025).
PT GNI, affiliated with the Jiangsu Delong, reportedly delayed payments to suppliers earlier this year, resulting in difficulties securing nickel ore for its smelter operations.
Gunbuster, which processes 1.8 million tonnes of nickel ore annually, has reportedly shut down all but a few of its more than 20 production lines since the start of the year.
In addition to the pressure of continuously falling nickel prices, PT GNI's business was reportedly impacted by the collapse of its parent company in China, Jiangsu Delong, due to default on debt payments.
Not only PT GNI, Jiangsu Delong is also an investor behind the nickel downstreaming project in Indonesia managed by PT Virtue Dragon Nickel Industry (VDNI) and PT Obsidian Stainless Steel (OSS) in Konawe and Southeast Sulawesi.
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