According to foreign media, Luhut Binsar Pandjaitan, Indonesia’s Coordinating Ministry of Maritime Affairs and Investment, believed that Indonesia would become the world's largest exporter of stainless steel by 2021.

He recently stated that due to the increasing volume of stainless steel exports in Indonesia, exports each year have reached US$5.8 billion.

The Indonesian Ministry of Industry's previously recorded steel output increased from almost 303,000 tons in 2017 to almost 460,000 tons in 2018 (January - September), while the output of hot-rolled stainless steel increased from 324,000 tons to 878,000 tons during the same period.