Why the boom? It’s part of the frenetic rush to move away from fossil fuels and into green energy. Indonesia is the world’s No. 1 miner of nickel, a key metal in the production of the batteries needed to power electric vehicles, forklifts and lawnmowers. The country also has significant reserves of cobalt, copper, gold and tin.
Indonesia isn’t exactly a stock trading hotbed. No other Southeast Asian country has a smaller market for equities relative to the size of its economy, according to the International Monetary Fund.
So it came as something of a surprise when Indonesia emerged this year as one of the world’s strongest markets for initial public offerings. In a 20-week span alone, companies raised US$2.4 billion ($3.28 billion) from first-time stock sales. That’s almost as much as Hong Kong and Singapore combined. Year to date, Indonesia ranks No. 4 globally, trailing only China, the US and the United Arab Emirates.
