A Blog for Browsing Mining, Mineral Processing, and Metals Info

RIO DE JANEIRO–Brazilian mining company Vale SA said Wednesday that China’s huge steel industry “may become less buoyant” in coming years as the country’s economic growth gradually slows to 6% and reform measures put the brakes on infrastructure development.

On the upside, growing concerns about pollution should force Chinese steelmakers to shut down inefficient mills and seek better raw materials, raising premiums for the high-grade iron ore Vale extracts from its mines in Brazil.

Vale has a large finger on the pulse of China’s economy as the world’s largest producer of iron ore, a key component in steelmaking. The Asian country produces around half the world’s steel and is Vale’s biggest customer, accounting for 38.6% of the Brazilian company’s $49 billion in revenue last year.

Read more at: http://online.wsj.com/article/BT-CO-20140226-715434.html?mod=googlenews_wsj

Indonesia’s parliament passed into law the nation’s first trade bill that enables the government to restrict exports and imports to protect local industries.

The law was approved at a plenary session today, Pramono Anung, the parliament’s deputy speaker, said in Jakarta. The government may limit exports or imports of staple commodities to ensure local demand is met, according to the final bill distributed to reporters at parliament yesterday.

Read more at: http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2014-02-11/new-indonesia-trade-law-allows-export-limits-to-protect-industry.html

The number of foreign workers in the country has been declining in the last three years mostly because of economic slowdown that affects investment values.

The government’s new regulation on employment of foreign workers also contributed to decreasing the number of foreign employees.

“The government’s efforts in controlling the number of foreign workers has concerned, among other things, human resources development in Indonesia. The presence of foreign workers must bring positive developments to the quality of human resources in Indonesia by transfer of skill and technology,” Manpower and Transmigration Minister Muhaimin Iskandar said on Sunday as quoted by Antara.

Read more at:  http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2014/02/10/foreign-workers-indonesia-decline.html

According to a survey of the Japan Bank for International Cooperation (JBIC), 44.9 percent of respondents assessed Indonesia as the most promising investment destination for the next three years. The respondents in this survey involved 500 Japanese companies that engage in international businesses. For Indonesia it is the first time in 21 years that it forms the preferred choice of overseas investments for Japanese companies, thus replacing China. In 2013, Japan already dominates foreign direct investment in Indonesia.

The dramatic decline in popularity of China (falling from 62.1 percent in last year’s survey to 37.5 percent in 2013) was caused by concerns over China’s slowing economic growth, intensifying competition with rivals as well as bilateral political tensions (Japan and China having a territorial dispute over islands in the East China Sea).

Read more at:

http://www.indonesia-investments.com/doing-business/business-columns/indonesia-most-popular-investment-destination-for-japanese-expansion/item1385

We are pleased to announce that RBTH, a leading source of information about contemporary Russia will now be available in Indonesia.

At the beginning of Vladimir Putin’s latest presidential term, Russia began to shift its foreign policy noticeably to the east, and a special emphasis was made on economically integrating Russia into the Asia-Pacific region. Putin even celebrated his 61st birthday in Bali – the Indonesian region that hosted the APEC summit in October, following last year’s summit in the Far East city of Vladivostok.

Read more at:  http://rbth.ru/news/2013/11/27/russia_and_indonesia_becoming_closer_32079.html