Chinese Investors Shun Philippine Nickel as Indonesia Tightens Taxes and Quotas
Updated
Updated · bworldonline.com · Jun 14
Chinese Investors Shun Philippine Nickel as Indonesia Tightens Taxes and Quotas
2 articles · Updated · bworldonline.com · Jun 14
Summary
Philippine nickel producers said Chinese investors are steering away from the country despite seeking alternatives to Indonesia, citing uncertainty in China-Philippines ties and West Philippine Sea tensions.
PNIA said geopolitics is only part of the hesitation: investors also worry about regulatory predictability, permit timelines, infrastructure gaps and high energy costs that can delay or shrink projects.
Indonesia’s tougher nickel regime — higher taxes, mining quotas and a revised mineral benchmark pricing system — has pushed Chinese groups including Tsingshan and Lygend to look instead at Madagascar, New Caledonia and Tanzania.
DMCI Mining said companies weigh resource potential, project economics and long-term strategy, while PNIA argued the Philippines could still capture more critical-minerals investment by streamlining permits and improving policy certainty.