Indonesia: iPhone 16 ban due to lack of Apple investment
Trouble for Apple from the Indonesian Minister of Industry: Apple invested around 13.5 million too little in the country, so there's no IMEI for the iPhone 16.
iPhone 16: This will not be available in Indonesia.
(Image: Sebastian Trepesch)
The Republic of Indonesia, with a population of over 275 million, was actually supposed to become an important new production location for Apple in the future. The iPhone company emphasized this last spring, even CEO Tim Cook personally came to Jakarta and met with President Joko Widodo. However, disappointment is now said to prevail: The Ministry of Industry of the world's largest Islamic country has now decided to ban the import of the iPhone 16. The reason: Apple has invested less in the country than initially promised.
iPhone 16 "illegal" in Indonesia
As the Indian business newspaper The Economic Times (ET) reports, the amount involved is relatively small for Apple: 230 billion rupiah, which is equivalent to around 13.5 million euros. Apple had initially promised to invest 1.71 trillion rupiah in Indonesia (around 100 million euros), but so far only 1.48 trillion (around 86.5 million) has been invested. The responsible Minister of Industry, Agus Gumiwang Kartasasmita, reacted harshly to this: in future, "every iPhone 16 operating in the country will be illegal".
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This is to be implemented through a technical measure: iPhones are not to be given an IMEI (International Mobile Equipment Identity) for Indonesians. "We, the Ministry of Industry, cannot issue these permits for the iPhone 16 because Apple has not yet fulfilled its obligations." In addition, Indonesia wants to force Apple to manufacture iPhone 16 components locally – or to realize at least part of the value chain in the country. The company had promised to set up offices for research and development in the country, but has not yet fully implemented this, according to reports.
Market is still relatively small, but growing
The ban is said to affect all iPhone 16 models – plus the new Apple Watch Series 10. Apple is said to have at least applied for certification for the proportion of local value added for the iPhone 16, but this has not yet been completed. In addition to the import ban, there may also be problems with the operation of the iPhone 16 – by tourists – in Indonesia, the ET writes.
Although Indonesia is a very exciting market for Apple, it is still relatively small. At the moment, the company is not in the top 5 of smartphone sales according to market researcher IDC. However, Apple is said to be the leader in the premium segment. There was initially no word from Apple about the incidents at the weekend.
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