Jakarta is seeking to boost investment from foreign tech companies with restrictive measures that require their phones to be 40 percent sourced from parts in Indonesia.
"We declared that as long as those products don't... meet the scheme we have required, they cannot be sold in Indonesia," industry ministry spokesperson Febri Hendri Antoni Arif told a press briefing Thursday.
"For Google Pixel, they have not obtained the TKDN certificate," he added, using the acronym of the scheme that imposes the 40 percent rule.
Google Indonesia did not immediately respond to an AFP request for comment.
Southeast Asia's biggest economy has a young, tech-savvy population with more than 100 million people under the age of 30 that tech companies are seeking to capitalise on.
Around 22,000 Google Pixel phones had entered Indonesia this year, according to industry ministry data.
Indonesia's smartphone market shipment share in the second quarter of the year was dominated by China's Xiaomi, Oppo and Vivo, as well as South Korea's Samsung, according to Counterpoint Research.
The ministry said last week phones blocked from commercial sale could still be carried into Indonesia as long as they were not being traded.
It said iPhone 16 phones had also not met the 40 percent local part requirement.
Apple does not have an official store in Indonesia, but chief executive Tim Cook visited in April as the firm explores ways to invest in the country.
Indonesia blocks Apple iPhone 16 sales over lack of investment
Jakarta (AFP) Oct 28, 2024 -
Indonesia has prohibited the marketing and sale of the iPhone 16 model over Apple's failure to meet local investment regulations, according to its industry ministry.
Southeast Asia's biggest economy has a young, tech-savvy population with more than 100 million people under the age of 30, but Apple still does not have an official store in the country, forcing those who want its products to buy from resale platforms.
Indonesia's industry ministry spokesman said imported phones of the iPhone 16 model -- which launched in September -- could not be marketed domestically because Apple's local unit had not met a requirement that 40 percent of phones be made from local parts.
"The iPhone 16 devices imported by registered importers cannot yet be marketed domestically," ministry spokesman Febri Hendri Antoni Arif said in a statement Friday.
"Apple Indonesia has not fulfilled its investment commitment to obtain... certification."
To reach that percentage, Apple must invest in Indonesia and source Indonesian materials to be used for iPhone components, according to local media reports.
Apple did not respond to an AFP request for comment.
The ministry said the new Apple phones could be carried into Indonesia as long as they were not being traded commercially.
It estimates just 9,000 units of the new model have entered the country, which has a population of around 280 million.
Indonesia's smartphone market shipment share in the second quarter of the year was dominated by China's Xiaomi, Oppo and Vivo, as well as South Korea's Samsung, according to Counterpoint Research.
In April, Apple chief executive Tim Cook visited Indonesia as the tech giant explores ways to invest in Southeast Asia's biggest economy and diversify supply chains away from China.
He met then-president Joko Widodo and his successor Prabowo Subianto for talks after the iPhone maker announced it would expand its developer academies in the country.
China's Huawei says profits fall 13 percent in first three quarters
Beijing (AFP) Oct 31, 2024 -
Chinese technology giant Huawei saw its net profit fall by over 13 percent in the first three quarters of 2024 year-on-year, a company filing showed Thursday.
Huawei has for several years been at the centre of an intense tech rivalry between Beijing and Washington, with US officials warning its equipment could be used to spy on behalf of Chinese authorities -- allegations it denies.
Since 2019, US sanctions have cut Huawei off from global supply chains for technology and US-made components, a move that initially hammered its production of smartphones.
The company said in an earnings report published by the Shanghai Clearing House on Thursday that its net profit between January and September was 63.1 billion yuan ($8.9 billion).
The equivalent figure for the first nine months of last year was 72.9 billion yuan, according to the statement, representing a decline of 13.4 percent.
Huawei did not provide a quarterly breakdown and declined to give further information when contacted by AFP.
The company is not publicly listed and therefore is under no obligation to disclose its earnings.
Last month, Huawei unveiled the world's first triple-folding phone, with a hefty price tag.
The gadget went on sale on September 20 with prices beginning at an eye-watering $2,800 -- over three times more than the new iPhone 16.
Related Links
Satellite-based Internet technologies
| Subscribe Free To Our Daily Newsletters |
| Subscribe Free To Our Daily Newsletters |
