Indonesia names two Chinese nationals as suspects in arson at nickel plant

Indonesia has named two Chinese nationals as suspects in its investigation into a deadly explosion at a nickel plant owned by top producer Tsingshan Holding Group.

The fire, which killed 21 people, exposed the hidden costs of the Southeast Asian country's rapid expansion of the nickel industry. Indonesia now produces more than half the world's supply, thanks to a wave of Chinese investment in metal recycling plants that have come under scrutiny for a series of accidents at the plants.

A police spokesman for Central Sulawesi, home to the Morowali Industrial Park where the fire occurred, did not say why they were named as suspects and identified them only by their initials.

One of them was a furnace supervisor at another smelter in the park and was seconded to the Qingshan plant, while the other also worked for another firm.

A deadly explosion at a Chinese-owned facility in Indonesia has exposed the hidden costs of Jakarta's ambitious bet to process battery metal to boost industrial development, a signature policy of outgoing leader Joko Widodo.

The Southeast Asian country has become a giant of the global battery materials industry over the past decade, thanks to billions of dollars in Chinese investment and a surge in processing plants turning low-grade nickel ore into a key ingredient for electric vehicles. Seen as a stepping stone to more sophisticated manufacturing, the policy has created jobs and export earnings, but last week's tragedy was the worst in a series of disasters to hit an industry expanding at breakneck speed.