Singaporean banks continue financing captive coal plants in Indonesia

A report by research institution Market Forces reveals that major Singaporean banks—DBS, OCBC, and UOB—continue to finance captive coal-fired power plants in Indonesia despite previous commitments to halt coal financing.

The analysis, titled ‘Banks said no to new coal. Loopholes say otherwise’, indicates that between 2020 and 2025, these banks provided funding for industrial coal plants used to support sectors such as nickel and aluminum processing. One specific instance involves a nickel producer on Obi Island in South Halmahera, North Maluku, which received loans totaling US$923 million.

Market Forces highlights policy loopholes that allow this continued investment. While some banks have excluded captive power plants from their thermal coal exposure, others have limited their restrictions only to the power generation sector, effectively allowing them to fund coal projects for other industrial needs. Financial campaigners argue that these loopholes undermine climate commitments and exacerbate the climate crisis by favoring coal over cleaner energy alternatives.