Indonesia bans iPhone 16 sales over Apple’s failure to hit investment target

Apple has failed to meet its investment commitments and needs to renew its local content licence, Indonesia’s government says

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Apple launched its iPhone 16 on September 20. Photo: Reuters

Published: 12:00pm, 16 Oct 2024

Indonesia is blocking the sale of Apple’s latest iPhone, citing the tech giant’s failure to comply with local content regulations aimed at boosting domestic industry – frustrating eager consumers awaiting the new device.

The US multinational has yet to fulfil its investment commitments in Indonesia and must renew its domestic component level (TKDN) licence, Minister of Industry Agus Gumiwang Kartasasmita said last week.

“Apple’s iPhone 16 cannot be sold in Indonesia yet because the extension of the TKDN certification is still pending, awaiting further investment realisation from Apple,” Agus told reporters in Jakarta on October 8.

Apple has only invested 1.48 trillion rupiah (US$95 million) in Indonesia, he said, “falling short of its total commitment” of 1.71 trillion rupiah.

The California-based tech giant has not yet met its promised investments through four research and development facilities in Indonesia, ministry spokesman Febri Hendri Antoni Arif told local news outlet Kumparan.

Apple’s new phone was officially launched on September 20, alongside a flurry of other products, but these new offerings remain unavailable in Indonesia.