Apple Offers $1B to Lift iPhone Ban in Indonesia, Says Government

Photo : AP

Indonesia has received a $1 billion offer from Apple to lift the ban on iPhone 16 sales. This is much more than Apple’s previous offers, as Indonesia wants Apple to invest more in the country.

Rosan Roeslani, the Investment Minister of Indonesia, told lawmakers that the $1 billion offer is just the first part of Apple’s plan to invest in Indonesia. He expects Apple to send a letter confirming this offer soon. Roeslani said the government wants fairness and that Apple should help create jobs in Indonesia by investing there.

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If the offer is confirmed, it would be ten times bigger than Apple’s last offer of $100 million. Before this, Apple had offered $10 million to build a factory for accessories and parts in Bandung, a city near Jakarta.

The ban on iPhone 16 sales happened because Apple didn’t follow Indonesia’s rules about having enough local content in phones and tablets. In 2023, Apple promised to invest $107 million in programs for developers in Indonesia but didn’t meet the full amount by $10 million.

Roeslani also said that Apple should invest more in Indonesia than it did in Vietnam. In Vietnam, Apple invested around $15 billion to make phones. "Their investment must be bigger," he said. Indonesia’s Industry Minister, Agus Gumiwang Kartasasmita, also said Apple needs to build a factory in Indonesia, just like Samsung and Xiaomi have done.

Roeslani explained that if Apple builds a factory in Indonesia, it will help the economy and create jobs. It will also bring more investment to other industries. He said, "The most important thing is that the global value chain will move to us."

Indonesia has a history of asking companies to invest more. For example, the government made TikTok separate its shopping service from the app to protect local businesses. Indonesia also banned the export of raw materials like nickel to make companies process them in Indonesia and build factories there.

This push for more investment is part of President Prabowo Subianto’s plan to grow the economy by 8% during his five-year term. Last quarter, the economy grew by only 4.95%, the slowest in a year.

Indonesia is an important market for Apple because it has many young, tech-savvy people. The country has more than 350 million mobile phones, which is more than its 270 million people. Apple wants to grow in Indonesia, but the government wants more investment in return.

The next steps will show how Apple responds to Indonesia’s request for more investment to help the country grow.