In order to promote the extension of the industry chain and high-quality development of lateritic nickel ore mineral resources by Indonesian local nickel mining companies, achieve deep integration of Indonesian local resources and Chinese technology, connect the "Indonesian resources-Korean materials-European and American markets" model, and effectively respond to the challenge of the US IRA Act, on September 24, 2023, GEM and Indonesian nickel resources industry giant PT Merdeka Battery Materials Tbk (hereinafter referred to as "Merdeka") signed a joint venture agreement on the construction of HPAL project for new energy lateritic nickel ore (nickel intermediates) (30,000 tons of nickel/year) in Jakarta, the capital of Indonesia.

The signing ceremony was witnessed by Mr. Luhut, the leader of Indonesia-China cooperation and Minister of Maritime Affairs and Investment Coordination. Mr. Winato Kartono, Chairman of the Board of Supervisors of Merdeka, and Professor Xu Kaihua, Chairman of GEM, attended the ceremony. Ms. Jona Widhagdo Putri, Special Advisor of the Minister of Maritime Affairs and Investment Coordination of Indonesia and Deputy Secretary-General of the Secretariat of the Indonesia-China High-Level Dialogue and Cooperation Mechanism, Mr. Jason Laurence Greive, CEO of Merdeka, Devin Antonio Ridwan, Chairman of Merdeka, Shi Hongchao, Vice President of Business Development of Merdeka, Santoso Kartono, representative of Merdeka's shareholders, and James Nicholas, Director of SIP, were also present at the signing ceremony.

According to the agreement, all parties jointly invest in and build a HAPL projectfor lateritic nickel ore in Morowali Industrial Park, Central Sulawesi Province, Indonesia-PT ESG New Energy Material (hereinafter referred to as the "ESG"), with a planned annual production of 30,000 tons of nickel intermediate products. Among them, Merdeka holds 55% of the equity of the joint venture company through its subsidiaries, and GEM holds 45% of the equity of the joint venture company through its subsidiaries. Through the strategic cooperation of resources, technology, and capital, all parties will build a high-tech nickel resource factory, jointly creating an industrial chain of lateritic nickel ore to produce new energy materials and new energy materials with global competitiveness to meet the needs of the global new energy materials market. This cooperation marks a new era of cooperation between Chinese and Indonesian enterprises, which represents a deepening cooperation between Indonesia's resource advantages and China's engineering and technological advantages and promotes the high-quality development of Indonesia's resources.

During the signing ceremony, Mr. Winato Kartono, Chairman of the Board of Supervisors of Merdeka, delivered a speech in which he pointed out that the key to making good use of Indonesia's rich mineral resources lies in having talented people. Therefore, he expressed his sincere gratitude to Indonesian President Joko Widodo and Minister Luhut, as well as to outstanding Chinese entrepreneurs such as Professor Xu Kaihua, Chairman of GEM. GEM has established a joint metallurgical engineering master's program between China and Indonesia and set up a HPAL and new energy material engineering and technology research center for lateritic nickel ore in Indonesia, which has trained a large number of local talents for Indonesia, enabling it to have its own metallurgical and new energy technology and promoting the Indonesian metallurgical and new energy industry to a higher level.

Chairman Xu Kaihua first expressed his gratitude to Indonesian government and Minister Luhut for their support of GEM. He said that on September 26, 2022, Minister Luhut came to Sulawesi and attended the opening ceremony of the first phase of the HPAL production line for manufacturing new energy materials from lateritic nickel ore at the QMB Industrial Park, which marked an important moment in the cooperation between GEM and Indonesia. Today, Minister Luhut once again came to the scene to witness the signing of the project between GEM and Merdeka. We thank Indonesian government and Minister Luhut for their promotion and efforts, which have brought broad development opportunities to Chinese enterprises!

The project signed this time will be designed by the GEM Indonesia Technology Innovation Center, and the first enterprise to manufacture new energy materials using the HPAL process dominated by Indonesian resources and controlled by Indonesian enterprises will be built. This is a historic cooperation and a deep integration of Indonesian resources and Chinese technology, which will surely promote Indonesian nickel resource development to a new stage of high-quality development! This signing is not only a fulfillment of Chairman Xu Kaihua's promise to Indonesian President Joko in Chengdu, China, but also a practice of the guiding spirit proposed by premier Li Qiang at the China-Indonesia Business Dinner on September 5, 2023, which calls on Chinese and Indonesian entrepreneurs to work hard as promoters, disseminators, and leaders in promoting friendship and cooperation between the two countries.

In the future, GEM will continue to cooperate with Merdeka to promote the construction of the entire industrial chain for the manufacturing of new energy materials from lateritic nickel ores, led by Merdeka and quickly completed, including lateritic nickel ore, new energy materials, ternary precursor materials and ternary cathode materials, to meet the needs of the global new energy market such as Europe and America, and to promote the electrification process in Indonesia and grow together with Indonesia.

Minister Luhut highly appreciated the cooperation between the two sides. He praised Professor Xu Kaihua for his profound knowledge and open-mindedness, and for building a high-tech nickel resource industrial park in Indonesia and promoting the construction of the entire industrial chain for nickel resource projects, which brought stable growth to the Indonesian economy. At the same time, he organized Indonesian young people to study in China, promoting the mass training of advanced talents in the Indonesian metallurgical engineering and new energy materials industries. The cooperation between GEM and Merdeka is the first HPAL process for manufacturing new energy materials from lateritic nickel ores controlled by Indonesian Companies. This is a remarkable achievement! In the future, he will widely promote the demonstration effect of the project globally, promote deep docking between Chinese and Indonesian enterprises, and comprehensively strengthen the cooperation in the mining, fisheries, tourism and other industrial chains based on Indonesia's rich natural resources, promoting the economic and social development of Indonesia and benefiting the Indonesian people.

Jiang Miao, Vice General Manager of GEM, Peng Yaguang, General Manager of QMB, Song Wei, Vice General Manager of GEM, and other officials from GEM Group attended the signing ceremony.

GEM and Merdeka sign joint venture agreement

Indonesia's Coordinating Minister for Maritime Affairs and Investment, Mr. Luhut, delivered a speech

Supervisory Board Chairman, Mr. Winato Kartono, delivered a speech

Professor Xu Kaihua, Chairman of GEM, delivered a speech

Sharing a glass of champagne, witnessing a historic moment of Nickle