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The government of Indonesia is said to be considering a $100 million offer from Apple to secure a reverse of the ban on sales of the new iPhone 16.
The increased incentive is worth ten times the value of the previous proposal from the US multinational giant which included the establishment of a production factory in Bandung, near Jakarta.
Apple was prohibited from selling its iPhone 16 in the country due to a dispute over locally produced components. The Ministry of Industry told the company’s local subsidiary, PT Apple Indonesia, it had not met the required 40% local content stipulation for smartphones.
It was also claimed Apple had not delivered on its earlier investment pledge of 1.7 trillion rupiah ($109 million), with only 1.5 trillion rupiah ($95 million) accounted for.
Due to the revised bumper investment offer, the government could change tack on its position, with a meeting convened to discuss the situation.
In a statement carried by Bloomberg, ministry spokesperson Febri Antoni said the meeting “means that the industry minister welcomes Apple’s investment commitment.”
Following the precedent set by former president
The most populous nation in south-east Asia has also placed restrictions on sales of Google’s Pixel phones due to similar investment disputes.
President Prabowo Subianto has adopted the strongarm approach as a means to pressure international firms to provide a stimulus to local manufacturing, with a positive knock-on effect on the domestic supply chain.
The action follows the precedent set by former president Joko Widodo who pursued TikTok owner, ByteDance in a dispute around cheap Chinese-made goods, ultimately leading to a $1.5 billion investment in partnership with an Indonesian e-commerce firm.
This is despite some concerns the measures could deter major international investment in the country.
With news of the $100 million salvo, Apple is intent to unlock access to Indonesia’s $1 trillion economy, with a market of over 350 million active smartphones within a population of 270 million.
Image credit: Via Midjourney
