Indonesia bans the marketing and sale of new iPhone 16. Picture: X / @theapplehub
Indonesia has taken a bold step by banning the marketing and sale of the Apple iPhone 16. This comes as regulators said Apple was nonc-ompliant with the country’s local investment and regulatory requirements.
According to Indonesia’s industry ministry, Apple has not met the regulatory requirement which mandates that 40% of the components used in electronic devices that are sold in the country by international tech firms, must be sourced locally.
That was after Industry Minister Agus Gumiwang Kartasasmita told Indonesian media earlier this month it was still waiting for Apple to fulfil its commitment to invest 1.71 trillion Indonesian Rupiah (approximately R2 billion) in the country, an amount it deems equivalent to the 40% sourcing threshold.
Since 2016, Indonesia has legally required makers of smartphones and tablets to source a certain amount of their components domestically or alternatively, invest an amount equivalent to that percentage to be able to sell within the country.
This was done through the creation of the Provisions and Procedures of the Calculation of the Value of Domestic Component Level (TKDN) regulation.
Despite ongoing negotiations, the most recent being when Apple's CEO, Tim Cook, visited Indonesia in April to explore investment opportunities and diversify supply chains away from China, Apple has failed to “fulfil its investment commitment to obtain certification,” said Febri Hendri Antoni Arif, a spokesman for the industry ministry.
Smartphone enthusiasts and Apple fans in Indonesia can buy the iPhone 16 for personal use from abroad - typically China, but they are slapped with high import fees.
The ministry estimates that only about 9,000 units of the iPhone 16 have entered Indonesia since its launch, which has a total population of around 280 million.
“The iPhone 16 devices imported by registered importers cannot yet be marketed domestically, and it would be illegal to do so,” said Arif.
Losing out on the Indonesian market could be crucial to Apple at a time where its global launch of iOS 18.1 and new AI platform, Apple Intelligence, has created a surge of interest across the world.
Indonesia is South-east Asia's largest economy and home to over 100 million tech-savvy people under the age of 30.
IOL