Japan's largest provider of city gas Tokyo Gas Group has acquired a 33.4% stake in Indonesian oil and gas trading company Super Energy Tbk PT.
In November Indonesia's president Joko Widodo and president of the Japan Indonesia Association Fukuda Yasuo discussed 17 Japanese projects in Indonesia including infrastructure, energy, and electricity. Tokyo Gas was part of that meeting, according to a report.
Tokyo Gas started to pay attention to liquid natural gas (LNG) import terminal projects in the Philippines and Vietnam in 2019, according to Reuters. A report said it bought stakes in a Vietnamese gas firm in 2017.
In November, Tokyo Gas announced its plan to issue $95.5 million (¥10 billion yen) in green bonds for financing 563 megawatts (MW) solar projects.
Infrastructure expert I-Ching Tseng at Pinsent Masons, the firm behind Out-Law, said, "As an emerging middle income country that is experiencing rapid economic expansion, industrialisation and urbanisation and population growth, the ever growing demand for energy, infrastructure and electricity needs in Indonesia is unavoidable. As a resource-rich country, its physical proximity to its ASEAN neighbours also provides a good foothold for companies looking to diversify investments in the energy sector."
"Japanese companies have been investing and exploring opportunities in Indonesia for many years. The investment by Tokyo Gas is not surprising," she said. "The Indonesian government is undertaking various efforts to improve its investment environment. Indonesia will increasingly be an interesting and important country for foreign investments."
