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At a meeting on the weekend, Indonesia’s president Prabowo Subianto told officials to accept Apple’s US$1 billion investment offer, Bloomberg reported, citing sources familiar with the matter.
The offer was made in an effort to end the country’s ban on iPhone 16 sales.
In October, Indonesia’s Ministry of Industry blocked Apple from selling its latest iPhone model, which first launched in September, for failing to comply with domestic regulations.
The southeast Asian country requires that at least 40 percent of the material in smartphones and tablets sold in stores nationally come from Indonesian producers — a measure to protect local producers and attract foreign investment.
Apple offered to expand its investment plans in Indonesia’s growing tech economy in an effort to ease the ban.
The offer included a proposal for one of Apple’s suppliers to set up a plant producing AirTags on the island of Batam, with the aim that it will one day account for 20 percent of global production of AirTags, Bloomberg reported.
Apple had previously proposed a US$10 million payment for a factory in Bandung, located southeast of Jakarta, the country’s current capital.
The factory would manufacture accessories and components.
The Indonesian market represents an insignificant portion of Apple’s total sales globally, but has become one of the company’s key alternatives in the region as it looks to move manufacturing out of China.
In April, CEO Tim Cook visited Indonesia and said that Apple was investigating the feasibility of establishing local manufacturing facilities there. The tech giant has already built four developer academies in Indonesia.
With over 280 million citizens, Indonesia is the world’s fourth-most-populous nation and is a growing market for Apple.
Bloomberg reported that Subianto told his cabinet to seek more future investments.
Apple did not immediately reply to a request for comment made outside normal US working hours. — Bloomberg.
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