Now Indonesia says Apple will build it a $1 billion plant to end the iPhone 16 ban

AppleInsider

An Indonesian minister reports that Apple will now build a manufacturing plant in the country to make iPhone components, and presumably thereby get the iPhone 16 ban lifted.

Jakarta - Image credit: Tom Fisk/Pexels

Previously on Indonesia vs Apple... Apple used to get around the country's requirement that 40% of the components in phones must be made locally. That's not a practical requirement for any country, and the government seemed to know it, because it allowed Apple to qualify to sell iPhones there by launching developer centers instead.

According to Reuters, though, the country's now six-week-old ban on sales of the iPhone 16, may be be resolved by fulfilling that 40% component requirement. Rosan Roeslan, the Indonesian investment minister who made the claim about Apple building a new plant, also said the 40% requirement would be increased.

The minister did not say what the new figure would be, or when it might be raised, or why. For its part, Apple has said nothing at all about manufacturing anything in Indonesia, not since Tim Cook promised to think about it.

This claim of a $1 billion plant at least fits in with how much Roeslan previously said that Apple would invest in the country. Apple didn't comment on that, either.

In its first attempt to resolve Indonesia's ban on the iPhone 16, Apple did offer a token $10 million investment. Rather than entirely new money, that would have chiefly meant Apple actually fulfilling its previous commitment to the country.

Indonesia's government rejected that offer, and then reportedly also rejected a follow-up proposal of $100 million over two years.



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beowulfschmidt

Weird how the Indonesian government would mention this, but Apple would not.

apple4thewin

Previously on… keeping up with the Indonesia v Apple insert Women yelling at cat meme

jeffharris

beowulfschmidt said:

Weird how the Indonesian government would mention this, but Apple would not.

Apple is trying to figure out a positive way to spin this?

One less manufacturing plant in China?

Howzzat?

thrang

In most other segments of the real world, this would be considered extortion.

dewme

thrang said:

In most other segments of the real world, this would be considered extortion.

It certainly feels that way … but if you step back and think about it this could be viewed as an alternative to tariffs. While tariffs are sold on the premise of making the exporter pay for access to a market, the reality is that the importers and ultimately end customers pay the bulk of the tariffs. 

Forcing a manufacturer to establish a large manufacturing operation in a foreign country creates jobs and tax revenues in the country and end customers in the country are potentially better off as a result of the action, unlike tariffs. 

Few things in life have simple answers when viewed in totality.

xyzzy-xxx

Currently Apple is moving some production from China to India. Having Indonesia as an alternative may be a good thing!

edited December 2024

danox

xyzzy-xxx said:

Currently Apple is moving some production from China to India. Having Indonesia as an alternative may be a good thing!

Look at a map and see which companies actually have Apple users if you’re gonna go anywhere go there.

https://worldpopulationreview.com/country-rankings/iphone-market-share-by-country Hint it isn’t Indonesia, nor is it India.

edited December 2024