Apple iPhone 16 series sales not seeing the light of day in Indonesia, just yet. Picture: Apple
The Indonesian government has rejected Apple’s $100 million investment offer recently made in the quest to get the iPhone 16 sales ban lifted.
Apple had initially offered to invest $10 million to undo the sales ban of its products, which was deemed inadequate.
They then revised and increased the offer tenfold to make it $100 million, matching its original pledge of IDR 1.71 trillion (R2 billion) for local research & development facilities, but the Indonesian government still maintains that it is not sufficient.
On October 28, after issuing a warning on October 11, the Indonesian government announced a sales ban of their new iPhone 16 series and Apple Watch 10 series.
The ban is due to Apple failing to meet its promised investment in the country by not ensuring that at least 40% of their devices’ components are locally produced, as stipulated in the TKDN regulation.
After the Industry Minister Agus Gumiwang Kartasasmita held an internal meeting to discuss Apple’s investment offer, government spokesperson Antoni Arif told Indonesian local news agency, Antara News, that the government wants Apple to invest more money and include Indonesia in its global supply chain.
“From the government’s perspective, of course, we want this investment to be larger,” said Arif.
“A larger investment will ease the development of Indonesia’s domestic manufacturing sector. It will help the country to become a part of Apple’s global supply chain,” he added.
Reportedly, Indonesia wants more of a manufacturing commitment from Apple. Arif went on to mention that Indonesia’s local industry can supply Apple with items like chargers and accessories.
“If Apple requires them, they could source components from domestic suppliers. This would create a multiplier effect, particularly in terms of labour absorption in Indonesia,” said Arif.
It is not clear at this stage how this issue will unfold, however one thing that’s clear is that Apple will need to raise its efforts if it plans to sell iPhone 16 models in Indonesia any time soon.