Apple Caves to Indonesia, Announces $100 Million Investment Proposal for New Plant

Tech giant Apple has me a $100 million investment proposal to Indonesia to build a plant to manufacture accessories and components, industry ministry said on Wednesday.

proposal comes after Indonesia banned sales of Apple's iPhone 16 over firm's failure to meet local rules on components. Indonesia requires certain smartphones sold domestically to comprise at least 40 per cent locally-me parts. government of island nation also held TKDN certification for iPhone 16.

“We, Ministry of Industry, are yet to be able to issue permits for iPhone 16 because re are still commitments that Apple must realise,” said Kartasasmita. He h told local media that extension of TKDN (equivalent to India’s BSI certificate) certification is “still pending, awaiting furr investment realisation from Apple.”

Due to ban, use of iPhone 16 units imported from overseas markets was termed illegal, along with consequences for ir owners, government h said in October.

tre ministry will meet on Thursday to discuss Apple's proposed West Java plant, its spokesperson Febri Hendri Antoni Arif said in a statement. "By holding a meeting on Thursday, this means that industry minister welcomes Apple's investment commitment," he said.

Apple has no manufacturing facilities in Indonesia, but has since 2018 set up application developer acemies with a combined cost of 1.6 trillion Indonesian rupiah ($99 million).

Apple did not immediately respond to a request for confirmation.

Indonesia has also banned sales of smartphones me by Alphabet's for a similar reason. According to government, company has not met rules which necessitate certain smartphones sold domestically to contain at least 40 per cent of parts manufactured locally.

Google and Apple are not among top smartphone makers in Indonesia. top two smartphone makers in first quarter of 2024 were Chinese firm Oppo and South Korean firm Samsung, research firm IDC said in May.

Indonesia has a huge, tech-savvy population, making Souast Asian nation a key target market for tech-related investment.

Written with inputs