Singapore banks face nickel questions
The lenders indicate that they are committed to enabling a just energy transition in the region
[SINGAPORE] Singapore’s three banks have come under an uncomfortable spotlight for their financing of Indonesia’s Harita Nickel, a mining company whose smelters and refineries are primarily coal-powered.
The attention is timely. As transition finance develops into a more mature business segment for DBS, OCBC and UOB, it is important for the banks to be more accountable about their roles in hard-to-abate sectors. Without more rigour, the lenders could face a greater risk of greenwashing accusations.
Halfway between Sulawesi to the west and Papua to the east, Harita’s main business sits on the coast of the remote island of Obi. To power the operations – which include smelting and refining – Harita mainly uses off-grid coal plants. These power generation facilities are called “captive” plants because they only serve a specific industrial project area and are not connected to municipal power grids.
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