Jakarta. A giant glass factory run by South Korea’s KCC Glass is set to begin production in the Central Java town of Batang in August, according to Investment Minister Bahlil Lahadalia.

KCC Glass first began constructing the plant -- which lies in the Batang Industrial Park -- in 2021. The groundbreaking ceremony also made KCC Glass the first foreign investor to operate in the industrial estate. 

“Speaking of South Korean investments, we have a domestic processing project in Batang and KCC Glass's plant in Batang will commence production this August. This is only one example of how much South Korea has invested in Indonesia’s domestic processing industry,” Bahlil said in Karawang on Wednesday. 

Bahlil did not go into details on the expected production capacity. 

However, during the plant’s groundbreaking ceremony back in 2021, the government claimed that the plant would become the largest glass factory in ASEAN. The KCC Glass Indonesia plant sits on 49 hectares of land. The investment value is worth around Rp 5 trillion ($305 million). The project is also expected to generate job opportunities for 1,200 people.

This year, Indonesia is witnessing several major South Korean investments taking shape. The country has just launched Southeast Asia’s first and largest EV battery cell plant in Karawang. This project is part of an investment deal made by South Korean automaker Hyundai, Seoul-based battery producer LG Energy Solution, and local company Indonesia Battery Corporation (IBC). 

According to Bahlil, South Korean investments coming to Indonesia over the past 5 years totaled $14 billion. Much of the South Korean money went into helping Indonesia get more value out of its abundant natural resources.

“So the South Korean investment is mainly in the downstream sector. President Joko ‘Jokowi’ Widodo has instructed us to make sure that the foreign investments are inclusive. In other words, foreign direct investments should not be dominated by one country. We must bring in investors from a variety of countries,” Bahlil added.

Bahlil’s remarks appeared to be the government’s attempt to dispel concerns over Chinese investor dominance in the country. Government data showed that China had been in the top 3 of Indonesia’s largest foreign investors in 2020 and even until Q1-2024.