Indonesia says Tesla strikes $5 billion deal to buy nickel products - media

U.S. carmaker Tesla has active affairs value about $5 billion to buy abstracts for their batteries from nickel processing organizations in Indonesia, a chief chiffonier abbot informed CNBC Indonesia.

Southeast Asia's better abridgement has been trying to get Tesla to set up a assembly ability in the country, which has main nickel reserves. President Joko Widodo met with Tesla architect Elon Musk beforehand this year to boom up investment.

"We are still in connected agreement with Tesla ... about they have began affairs two excellent goods from Indonesia," Coordinating Minister for Maritime and Investment Affairs Luhut Pandjaitan answered in an account advertisement on Monday.

He answered Tesla active a five-year arrangement with nickel processing organizations operating out of Morowali in Sulawesi island. The nickel abstracts will be acclimated in Tesla's lithium batteries.

Tesla did not anon acknowledge to a Reuters email gluttonous comment.

Indonesia is agog to advance electric cartage and batteries industries at home and had chock-full exports of nickel ore to ensure delivery for investors. The move had auspiciously admiring investments from Chinese animate giants and South Korean organizations like LG and Hyundai.

However, many nickel advance so far have gone to assembly of awkward metal such as nickel pig adamant and ferronickel.

The government affairs to appoint consign tax on these metals to addition income while auspicious further calm assembly of higher-value products, a chief official informed Reuters aftermost week.