(Corrects paragraph 5 to reflect that the DBS official is awoman, not a man) * DBS, BNP Paribas to lead a consortium of 9 banks * The HPAL project is expected to be the first in Indonesia * Deal includes term loan and working capital facility * Indonesia's progress in producing battery metals in focus HANOI, April 1 (Reuters) - Singapore bank DBS Group said on Thursday it has co-led a group of lenders in a$625 million financing deal for a battery nickel and cobaltproject in Indonesia. The project by PT Halmahera Persada Lygend (PT HPAL) isexpected to be the first smelter in Indonesia to usehigh-pressure acid leach (HPAL) technology to produce nickel andcobalt chemicals used in making batteries for electric vehicles. It is one of several Indonesian projects closely-watched bya global market hungry for affordable and timely supply fromIndonesia, the world's biggest producer of nickel ore and a fastgrowing supplier of nickel products. The transaction supports Indonesia's ambitions for theelectric vehicle and battery manufacturing industry, Tan SuShan, Group Head of Institutional Banking and PresidentCommissioner for PT Bank DBS Indonesia, said. She said the bank was keen to help companies in high-growthindustries, such as PT HPAL, which are also "mindful of theirenvironmental, social and governance impact". DBS, Southeast Asia's biggest bank, said it has committed tofinance S$50 billion ($37.13 billion) in clean energy projectsby 2024, after closing S$9.6 billion in sustainable financingtransactions in 2020, up 81% year-on-year. The lender said it has joined BNP Paribas to leada consortium with seven other banks to launch a $600 millionterm loan facility and a $25 million working capital facility ina seven-year deal for the HPAL project. The other lenders were Indonesia's Bank Mandiri ,Bank Negara Indonesia , OCBC NISP , BankCentral Asia , Malaysia's Maybank ,Singapore's Oversea-Chinese Banking Corp Ltd andUnited Overseas Bank Ltd . Based in Indonesia's Obi island, the HPAL project is ajoint-venture between China's Lygend Mining and Indonesia'sHarita Group. "PT HPAL is committed to controlling the use of energysources in every step of our production processes in pursuit ofgood environmental governance through implementation of lowemission technology," a PT HPAL spokesman said. ($1 = 1.3466 Singapore dollars) (Reporting by Mai Nguyen; editing by Barbara Lewis)
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