Indonesia Asks SpaceX to Study Country as Venue for Launch Site

(Bloomberg) -- Indonesia invited SpaceX to assess the possibility of setting up a rocket launch site in the country, according to a ministry statement.

President Joko Widodo discussed the idea with SpaceX founder Elon Musk during a phone call on Friday, the Coordinating Ministry for Maritime and Investment Affairs said in the statement. Musk intends to send a team to Indonesia in January to study partnership opportunities, it said.

Indonesia is already holding talks with Musk over potential investment in the country, with Tesla Inc. looking into the possibility of building a plant in Central Java, Industry Minister Agus Gumiwang Kartasasmita said in October. Indonesia, home to some of the world’s largest deposits of copper, nickel and tin, is touting its abundance of the commodities to lure billions of dollars in investment.

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