Indonesia's Shifting Mining Policies Prompt Chinese Investors to Redirect Nickel Investments to Africa

A number of Chinese companies, which have been the main drivers behind the revival of Indonesia’s nickel industry, are beginning to seek alternative investments in Africa following growing domestic policy uncertainty. This move raises concerns over the sustainability of Indonesia’s dominance as the world’s largest nickel producer.

Government policy changes regarding the mining sector, ranging from tighter nickel ore quotas, planned tax increases, to revisions of the mineral benchmark price, are seen as beginning to disrupt the investment climate and prompting investors to consider expansion into other countries.

“If the government adds bureaucracy and controls commodity selling prices, it will impact the scale of incoming investment,” said Canaccord Senior Mining Analyst Tim Hoff in Perth, as quoted by Reuters on Friday (5/6/2026).