A few days ago, Indonesia, the 4th most populous country in the world, announced a ban on the sale of the iPhone 16. As an article in the Financial Times explains, the Cupertino firm is not failed to obtain “local content” certification from the government, essential for its latest iPhones to be marketed in the country. But what is it about? In essence, to encourage investment in Indonesia, the government created this rule that requires at least 40% of the value of a product to be locally sourced.
However, as the Financial Times explains, it is possible to obtain certification by developing apps locally, or by developing innovative products there. And to comply with this rule, Apple would have chosen to create developer academies. But the problem is that the firm’s investments would not be sufficient for it to obtain “local content” certification. More precisely, Apple would have only invested 1,500 billion Indonesian rupiahs (around 88 million euros), out of the 1,700 billion promised.
What impact on Apple’s sales?
As mentioned above, Indonesia is one of the most populated countries on the planet. And there would be a total of 354 million smartphones in use in the country, out of a population of 280 million people. Furthermore, in recent years, iPhone sales in the country have reportedly been increasing. However, despite all this, the banning of the iPhone 16 in Indonesia should not have a significant impact on the company’s financial results, according to the Financial Times.
Indeed, despite its population, Indonesia is not a particularly important market for Apple, since it is still largely dominated by Android devices.
- The Indonesian government recently announced a ban on the sale of the iPhone 16
- Indeed, the country has a “local content” rule that Apple has not respected despite its investments in the country
- Indonesia requires that part of the value of products sold in the country be local
- The ban on the sale of the iPhone in Indonesia should nevertheless not have a serious effect on Apple’s financial results, given that it is a market which is still largely dominated by Android
