Indonesia
There’s no substance to the rumour about a merger with Michelin-owned tyre maker PT Multistrada Arah Sarana Tbk, says PT Gajah Tunggal Tbk. Indonesian financial publication Kontan reports that when asked to confirm or deny the alleged transaction, Gajah Tunggal’s finance and accounting director Kisyuwono responded that the rumour is “not true”.
Campaign group Mighty Earth has published a report alleging that Michelin “covered up industrial-scale deforestation of over 2,500 hectares of rainforest in the run-up to the launch of its flagship ‘eco-friendly’ sustainable natural rubber joint venture project in Sumatra, Indonesia”. The project is currently seeking an additional $120 million in investment from green financiers. Michelin’s joint-venture Indonesia natural rubber project Royal Lestari Utama (RLU) robustly denied the allegations.
Marubeni is well-known for its range of tyre-related investment interests. While the conglomerate began in Japan, recent additions in Russia and US-based Tyrata demonstrate the diversity of its tyre-related portfolio.
Former Maxxis International president Dr Wally Chen is leaving retirement to assume the chairmanship of the company. Dr Chen, who oversaw Maxxis’ rise to the ranks of the world’s top 10 tyre companies, will assume the chairmanship effective immediately following a vote by the company’s board of directors at a recent meeting. He replaces former Maxxis/Cheng Shin chairman Robert Lo (pictured).
Dunlop Aircraft Tyres Ltd (DATL) is planning to invest 1 trillion rupiah (£54.14 million; 64 million euros; US$70.92 million) in an aircraft tyre retreading factory in Karawang, West Java, Indonesia. According to several local news sources, the retreading factory will be followed by a new aircraft tyre production plant as well.
Following a successful public offer, Michelin now holds a 99.64 per cent shareholding in Indonesian tyre maker PT Multistrada Arah Sarana TBK. After acquiring an 87.59 per cent share of Multistrada on 8 March, Michelin launched a public offer for the remaining outstanding shares, at the same price per share as previously offered. The transaction enabled Michelin to acquire an additional 12.05 per cent in the company.
On 6 March, the International Tripartite Rubber Council (ITRC) announced plans to reduce rubber exports by 240,000 tons for the next four months.
On Friday, Michelin announced its acquisition of 88 per cent of Indonesian tyre maker PT Multistrada Arah Sarana TBK (Multistrada) for US$480 million. The share purchase was completed in line with the terms announced on 22 January 2019 and after obtaining all necessary approvals. As part of the transaction, Michelin also takes on a 20 per cent stake in the tyre retail and automotive service chain PT Penta Artha Impressi, as well as 50 hectares of land.
It is not unusual for the start of the year to be replete with corporate acquisitions. Some even happen while much of the western world is enjoying Christmas and new year holidays. While European FinTyre Distribution (EfTD) did indeed enact the latest move in its ongoing strategic purchasing programme during the 2018 holiday break, it seems that this year February was the month of choice for getting the chequebooks out, with Bridgestone, Michelin and – in the UK at least – Goodyear all announcing strategic spending. For different but connected reasons all three challenge us to consider the impact of changing mobility trends.
Michelin has agreed to buy 80 per cent of PT Multistrada Arah Sarana TBK, the Indonesia-based tyre manufacturer. With a production capacity of more than 180 thousand tons (which equates to 11 million passenger car tyres, 9 million two-wheel tyres and 250 thousand truck tyres), Multistrada generated net sales of US$281 million in 2017.
Quoting sources from the “investment banking industry,” BusinessKorea reports that “a number of global tyre companies” have shown interest in acquiring Indonesia’s second-largest tyre maker, PT Multistrada Arah Sarana Tbk. The publication names Hankook Tire and Michelin as two of the interested parties.
A groundbreaking ceremony took place on 1 August for the joint venture tyre plant that Indonesian tyre maker PT Gajah Tunggal is setting up with Inoue Rubber Co., Ltd., a subsidiary of Japan’s Inoac Corporation. The joint venture, known as IGM, is located in Tangerang, Indonesia and will manufacture motorcycle tyres sold under the IRC Tire brand name.
At the end of May, anti-Chinese truck tyre tariffs were implemented. They included nominal (as opposed to percentage) tariffs at levels that surprised many. As a result, supply shortages and challenges at distributors were predicted. Shuttering of some of the lowest cost Chinese tyremakers is also expected. However, speaking to affected firms during the recent Tire Cologne reveals that many are already prepared to source tyres elsewhere. Indeed, the largest manufacturers have been off-shoring for some time. As a result, virtually all the leading Chinese tyre manufacturers already have non-Chinese tyre production in place. Let’s take a look at who’s got what.
A partnership between Continental and the German Corporation for International Cooperation (the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit, or GIZ) aims to improve the sustainability of the natural rubber supply chain in Indonesia, the world’s second largest producer of natural rubber. The goals of the collaboration are to develop a criteria catalogue for the sustainable production of natural rubber, to train farmers in sustainable production in accordance with these criteria and to track the rubber from smallholders all the way to production at Continental. By doing so, the partners expect that this optimisation of the supply chain, paired with increases in rubber quality and yield, will generate higher incomes for rubber tree cultivators.
Mighty Earth
B-Quik; Marubeni
Maxxis International