Japanese automaker Mazda has inaugurated its first vehicle assembly plant in Indonesia, while investment platform Pluang has launched an AI-assisted trading feature.
Pluang launches AI-assisted trading feature
Indonesia-based investment platform Pluang has launched an AI-assisted trading feature that enables users to connect large language models such as OpenAI’s ChatGPT, Anthropic’s Claude and Google’s Gemini to their investment accounts to analyse portfolios, conduct research and place trades.
Called Pluang Agentic Trading, the feature allows investors to use AI assistants to review portfolio holdings, retrieve market data, summarise earnings reports and submit buy or sell orders through conversational prompts. Orders are executed only after users approve each transaction, according to the company.
The feature is being rolled out to a limited group of users before a wider release planned for mid-August.
The launch comes as global brokerages increasingly experiment with generative AI to support retail investing. Pluang said platforms including Robinhood, Interactive Brokers and TradeStation have introduced similar AI integrations in the US this year.
“Quality investment analysis has always been the privilege of those closest to the information—professional financial institutions, research subscriptions, or financial centres,” Andreas Agung Hendrawan, Pluang’s director of marketing and commercial, said in a statement.
“Pluang Agentic Trading opens the floodgate… an investor in Jayapura or Jember will hold the same calibre of analysis—and the ability to act on it—at their fingertips.”
Pluang said the feature is designed with safeguards intended to prevent unauthorised transactions.
“The hardest challenge is not making AI place orders, but building safeguards that prevent AI from making wrong or unauthorized transactions,” co-founder Claudia Kolonas said. “We built the safety layer first, precisely because the stakes are real.”
Mazda opens first Indonesia assembly plant
Japanese automaker Mazda has inaugurated its first vehicle assembly plant in Indonesia, marking a 400-billion-rupiah ($22.2 million) investment as it expands its manufacturing footprint in Southeast Asia’s largest automotive market.
The plant, operated by PT Eurokars Produksi Pratama, a subsidiary of Mazda’s Indonesian distributor PT Eurokars Motor Indonesia (EMI), is located in Citeureup, West Java, and has an initial production capacity of 5,700 vehicles per year. Mass production began on July 29, with the Mazda CX-30 becoming the first model to be assembled locally.
The 6.2-hectare plant is a dedicated assembly facility built exclusively for Mazda vehicles, unlike many automotive plants in Indonesia that share production lines across multiple brands. The company said all production equipment, manufacturing machinery, and the test track were newly installed to meet Mazda’s global manufacturing standards.
“The Mazda Indonesia Plant represents our long-term investment commitment in Indonesia. This facility is also a strategic step to strengthen our contribution to the development of the country’s automotive industry,” Ricky Thio, chief operating officer of EMI and president director of Mazda Indonesia, said during the inauguration ceremony, as quoted from local reports.
The move marks a shift in Mazda’s strategy in Indonesia, where its vehicles have traditionally been sold as completely built-up (CBU) imports from Japan, Thailand and Malaysia. Local assembly is expected to improve supply chain efficiency while reducing reliance on imported vehicles.
Mazda first announced plans to build the assembly plant earlier this year as part of its long-term expansion strategy in Indonesia. The company has said the facility will support higher local content and strengthen its competitiveness in the domestic market.
