Small Town Hero Lures China Investment Without Jakarta Red Tape
Indonesia's Bantaeng forges a new path far from the capital
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After scouring the coast of Indonesia’s Sulawesi island in 2014 for a place to build a nickel smelter, Amir Jao and his Chinese partners had just about given up when they pulled into the tiny town of Bantaeng.
“We were treated like a guest,” said Amir, a shareholder in Huadi Nickel-Alloy Indonesia, a partner of Shanghai Huadi Industrial Co. “The mayor came to us and asked how he could help. As long it was in line with the rules, his attitude was: That’s not a problem.”