In order to promote the extension of the industry chain and high-quality exploitation of lateritic nickel ore mineral resources by Indonesian local nickel mining companies, achieve deep integration of Indonesian resources and Chinese technology, shape the "Indonesian resources-Korean materials-European and American markets" model, and effectively respond to the challenge of the US IRA Act, on September 24, 2023, GEM and Indonesian nickel resources industry giant PT Merdeka Battery Materials Tbk (hereinafter referred to as "Merdeka") signed a joint venture agreement on HPAL project of nickel resource in Jakarta, the capital of Indonesia.

The signing ceremony was witnessed by H.E. Luhut Binsar Pandjaitan, Indonesia’s Coordinator for Cooperation with China and Coordinating Minister of Maritime Affairs and Investment. Mr. Winato Kartono, Chairman of the Board of Supervisors of Merdeka, and Professor Xu Kaihua, Board Chairman of GEM, attended the ceremony. Ms. Jona Widhagdo Putri, Special Advisor of Coordinating Minister of Maritime Affairs and Investment of Indonesia and Deputy Secretary-General of the Secretariat of the China-Indonesia High-Level Dialogue and Cooperation Mechanism, Mr. Jason Laurence Greive, CEO of Merdeka, Devin Antonio Ridwan, Chairman of Merdeka, Shi Hongchao, Vice President of Business Development of Merdeka, Santoso Kartono, representative of Merdeka's shareholders, and James Nicholas, Director of SIP, were also present at the signing ceremony.

According to the agreement, all parties jointly invest and build a hydrometallurgical company for lateritic nickel ore - PT ESG New Energy Material (hereinafter referred to as the "joint venture company") - in Morowali Industrial Park, Central Sulawesi Province, Indonesia with a planned annual production of 30,000 tons of nickel intermediate products. Among them, Merdeka holds 55% of the equity of the joint venture company through its subsidiaries, and GEM holds 45% of the equity of the joint venture company through its subsidiaries. Through the strategic cooperation of resources, technology, and capital, all parties will build a high-tech nickel resource factory, jointly creating an industrial chain of lateritic nickel ores to new energy materials with global competitiveness to meet the needs of the global new energy materials market. This cooperation marks a new era of cooperation between Chinese and Indonesian enterprises, which represents a deepening cooperation between Indonesia's resource advantages and China's engineering and technological advantages and promotes the high-quality exploitation of Indonesia's resources.

During the signing ceremony, Mr. Winato Kartono, Chairman of the Board of Supervisors of Merdeka, delivered a speech in which he pointed out that the key to making good use of Indonesia's rich mineral resources lied in the talent. Therefore, he expressed his sincere gratitude to Indonesian President Joko Widodo and Minister Luhut, as well as to outstanding Chinese entrepreneurs such as Professor Xu Kaihua, Board Chairman of GEM. GEM has established a joint metallurgical engineering master training program between China and Indonesia, and set up Laterite Nickel Ore Hydrometallurgy and New Energy Materials Engineering Technology Research Center in Indonesia, which has trained a large number of local talents for Indonesia, enabling Indonesia to have its own metallurgical and new energy technology and promoting the metallurgical and new energy industry of Indonesia to a higher level.

Chairman Xu Kaihua first expressed his gratitude to Indonesian government and Minister Luhut for their support of GEM. He said that on September 26, 2022, Minister Luhut came to Sulawesi and attended the opening ceremony of the first phase of the hydrometallurgy production line of lateritic nickel ores to new energy materials from at the QMB Industrial Park, which marked an important moment in the cooperation between GEM and Indonesia. Today, Minister Luhut once again came to the scene to witness the signing of the project between GEM and Merdeka. We thank Indonesian government and Minister Luhut for their promotion and efforts, which have brought great development opportunities to Chinese enterprises!

The project signed this time will be designed by the GEM Indonesia Technology Innovation Center, and the first enterprise to manufacture new energy materials using the HPAL process dominated by Indonesian resources and controlled by Indonesian enterprises will be built. This is a historic cooperation and a deep integration of Indonesian resources and Chinese technology, which will surely promote Indonesian nickel resource development to a new stage of high-quality development! This signing is not only a fulfillment of Chairman Xu Kaihua's promise to Indonesian President Joko Widodo in Chengdu, China, but also a practice of the guiding spirit proposed by Premier Li Qiang at the China-Indonesia Business Dinner on September 5, 2023, which calls on Chinese and Indonesian entrepreneurs to work hard as promoters, disseminators, and leaders in promoting friendship and cooperation between the two countries.

In the future, GEM will continue to cooperate with Merdeka to promote the construction of the entire industrial chain of lateritic nickel ores to new energy material, including lateritic nickel ores, new energy materials, ternary precursor materials and ternary cathode materials, to meet the needs of the global new energy market such as Europe and America, and to promote the electrification process in Indonesia and grow together with Indonesia.

Minister Luhut highly appreciated the cooperation between the two sides. He praised Professor Xu Kaihua for his profound knowledge and open-mindedness, and for building a high-tech nickel resource industrial park in Indonesia and promoting the construction of the entire industrial chain for nickel resource, which brought stable growth to the Indonesian economy. At the same time, GEM organized Indonesian young people to study in China, promoting the mass training of advanced talents in the Indonesian metallurgical engineering and new energy materials industries. The cooperation between GEM and Merdeka is the first Hydrometallurgy project for manufacturing new energy materials from lateritic nickel ores controlled by Indonesian companies. This is a remarkable achievement! In the future, he will widely promote the demonstration effect of the project globally, promote deep docking between Chinese and Indonesian enterprises, and comprehensively strengthen the cooperation in the mining, fisheries, tourism and other industrial chains based on Indonesia's rich natural resources, promoting the economic and social development of Indonesia and benefiting the Indonesian people.

Jiang Miao, Vice General Manager of GEM, Peng Yaguang, Vice General Manager of GEM and General Manager of QMB, Song Wei, Vice General Manager of GEM, and others attended the signing ceremony.

Image 1: GEM and Merdeka signed the joint venture agreement

Image 2: H.E. Luhut Binsar Pandjaitan, Coordinating Minister of Maritime Affairs and Investment of Indonesia, delivered a speech

Image 3: Mr. Winato Kartono, Chairman of the Board of Supervisors of Merdeka, delivered a speech

Image 4: Professor Xu Kaihua, Board Chairman of GEM, delivered a speech

Image 5: Sharing a glass of champagne, witnessing the historic moment