Malaysian Tycoon Koon Poh Keong’s Press Metal Leads Indonesian JV To Build $750 Million Alumina Refinery

Press Metal Alumunium Holdings—controlled by Malaysian tycoon Koon Poh Keong—is forming a joint venture to build and operate a 3.2 billion ringgit ($750 million) alumina refinery in West Kalimantan, Indonesia.

The Malaysian aluminum producer will own 80% of the joint venture company, called Kalimantan Alumina Nusantara, while its Indonesian partners, Alakasa Alumina Refineri and Dinamika Sejahtera Mandiri will hold the rest, Press Metal said in a statement on Wednesday.

“This venture aligns with our strategy to reinforce and continuously strengthen our leading position as the largest smelter in Southeast Asia and boost our competitive edge across the aluminum value chain,” Koon, CEO of Press Metal, said in the statement, adding the new facility will boost the group’s efficiency and reduce its reliance third-party suppliers.

The integrated alumina plant, equipped with its own power plant and jetty, is designed to produce up to 1.2 million tonnes of alumina during its initial phase. There’s room to potentially double the production capacity through future expansion.

The Indonesian JV comes nearly three months after Press Metal sold its stake aluminum oxide producer Bintan Alumina Indonesia in exchange for a minority interest in Chinese billionaire Song Zuowen’s Nanshan Aluminium International Holdings in a deal valued at $330 million.

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Koon and his four brothers founded Press Metal in 1986. The aluminum-extruding company has since grown into Southeast Asia's largest integrated aluminum producer by output. The siblings have a combined net worth of $5.3 billion, ranking them No. 5 in the list of Malaysia's 50 Richest that was published in April.