- First transaction scheduled for January 4
- Ferronickel expected among initial trading commodities
Indonesia, the world’s largest nickel producer, is preparing to launch a dedicated mineral and strategic commodity exchange, ICOMEX (Indonesia Commodity Exchange), aimed at strengthening the country’s pricing power and establishing domestic benchmarks for strategic minerals.
The Indonesian Financial Services Authority (OJK) launched the exchange on September 17 and has begun developing the regulatory framework for its operation. Actual trading is scheduled to commence on January 4, 2027.
According to OJK Minerals and Strategic Commodities Exchange supervisor Sarjito, the first mineral transactions through ICOMEX are expected to begin in early January next year.
Tin and ferronickel among initial commodities
Tin and ferronickel are expected to be among the initial commodities traded on the exchange, with Indonesian state-owned mining companies likely to participate.
Tin, which already has an established trading ecosystem in Indonesia, is being considered as one of the first commodities to be traded. The inclusion of ferronickel is particularly significant for the stainless steel raw material market, given Indonesia’s dominant position in global nickel supply.
Indonesia aims to become a price setter
The key objective behind ICOMEX is to enable Indonesia to move beyond being primarily a mineral producer and exporter and play a greater role in determining benchmark prices for its strategic minerals.
Despite Indonesia’s strong position in the production of nickel and other strategic minerals, pricing for its products has historically been influenced by international markets and benchmarks, including the London Metal Exchange (LME).
Through ICOMEX, the OJK plans to develop domestic benchmark prices for Indonesian minerals and strategic commodities. Sarjito said Indonesia should move from being a “price taker” to a “price setter” over the long term.
Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto also highlighted the country’s intention to play a greater role in shaping global mineral prices when announcing plans for a strategic mineral exchange in August.
Exchange aimed at improving price transparency
The Indonesian government also expects ICOMEX to improve transparency in mineral exports and strengthen the management of national resource revenues.
The exchange could help curb under-invoicing and transfer-pricing practices, where affiliated companies may adjust transaction prices during international trade.
As a result, prices established through ICOMEX could potentially become reference benchmarks for future domestic and international transactions involving Indonesian minerals.
The OJK plans to gradually establish the exchange’s trading participants, trading mechanisms, clearing and settlement systems, risk-management framework and market-integrity and supervision mechanisms.
ICOMEX’s operating licence is scheduled to be issued on January 1, 2027, followed by the commencement of full-scale trading three days later.
Ferronickel benchmark in focus
The inclusion of ferronickel as an initial trading commodity is expected to draw particular attention from the Asian stainless steel industry. Indonesia is a major supplier of nickel-bearing raw materials to the stainless steel value chain, and a domestically established ferronickel benchmark could influence price discovery across the regional market.
Note: This article is published as part of a content exchange agreement between SteelDaily and BigMint.
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