THERE are many strange aspects to the plan by the Indonesia Battery Corporation (IBC) to acquire German electric vehicle producer StreetScooter. As well as doubtful business prospects, the transaction by a joint venture between four state-owned corporations feels rather forced.

IBC is to buy a 68-percent shareholding in StreetScooter, a subsidiary of the German logistics firm DHL Group, for US$170 million (around Rp2.4 trillion). State-Owned Ent