Indonesia bans iPhone 16 series sales | Techmeme Ride Home Podcast
Indonesia bans iPhone 16 series sales, saying that Apple has not fulfilled its 40% local content requirements and invested ~$95M, below its ~$108M commitment. Quoting Bloomberg:
That’s a road bump for Apple, which has enjoyed healthy initial sales of its flagship product in other Asian markets such as China. While Apple ranks outside the top six smartphone brands in Indonesia, it’s a potential growth market with a young, increasingly tech-savvy population. The $1 trillion economy has over 350 million active mobile phones — much more than the nation’s 270 million population, according to government data.
The industry ministry said earlier in October that Apple has only invested 1.5 trillion rupiah ($95 million) in Indonesia, below its commitment of 1.7 trillion rupiah. Apple built four developer academies in the country in lieu of establishing a local manufacturing facility, though Chief Executive Officer Tim Cook said in April that the company was looking into the feasibility of doing so.
Rival phone makers like Samsung Electronics Co. and Xiaomi Corp. have set up factories in Indonesia to comply with the domestic content regulations introduced in 2017. Other ways to boost local content include sourcing materials or hiring workers in the country.
Indonesia has a long track record of using trade restrictions to push foreign companies to produce more of their goods domestically, though to mixed success.
The government tightened import rules on a wide swathe of products this year, leading to a shortage of items such as laptops and car tires, and causing a pile-up in its ports. However, its long-running ban on the export of mineral ores like nickel have led to the rapid development of its battery sector.
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