Apple’s $100M investment offer to get iPhone 16 ban lifted, seen as unfair by Indonesian government – report
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Michael M. Santiago
Apple’s (NASDAQ:AAPL) offer to invest $100M in Indonesia does not meet the “fairness” principles, said a government official, indicating that the Asian country is seeking additional negotiations before lifting a ban on the sale of iPhone 16 models in the country, Bloomberg News reported.
Indonesian Industry Minister Agus Gumiwang Kartasasmita said that amount is inadequate compared to what Apple has invested in other countries, the report added.
Apple has invested over 244T rupiah (about $15B) toward manufacturing factories in Vietnam, where its market sales total about 1.5 million units, the minister noted. He added that in comparison, the U.S. tech giant has invested only about 1.5T rupiah in developer academies in Indonesia, where the company sells around 2.5 million units, the report noted.
Earlier this month, Apple offered to invest about $100M in Indonesia over two years after the Indonesian government in October restricted the company from selling its new iPhone 16 series in the country, noting that the iPhone maker was yet to meet local investment requirements.
The comments suggest more impediments for Apple to get the ban lifted. Samsung (OTCPK:SSNLF) Electronics and Xiaomi (OTCPK:XIACF) (OTCPK:XIACY) have invested 8T rupiah and 55T rupiah, respectively, to make their devices in the country, the minister noted.
“We want Apple to return to do business here but we need a fair resolution,” said the minister.
Apple has invested 1.5T rupiah in Indonesia which was below its pledge in 2023 to invest 1.7T rupiah, a discrepancy of around $10M “which is so small,” said the minister, according to the report.
“We want Apple to send negotiation teams to meet us,” said Kartasasmita.
The government’s requests include, Apple to provide the remaining $10M from its investment commitment, and make a better offer for 2024-2026. The minister noted that their main priority is still to get the U.S. company to open a facility in Indonesia, the report added.