Indonesia rejects Apple’s US$100 million investment offer to lift iPhone 16 sales ban

Indonesia has rebuffed Apple’s US$100 million investment proposal as insufficient to lift a local sales ban on its latest iPhones, with officials demanding better terms amid comparisons to the tech giant’s larger commitments to other Southeast Asian nations.

The proposal did not meet “principles of fairness”, Industry Minister Agus Gumiwang Kartasasmita told reporters on Monday, comparing it to much bigger investments made by Apple in neighbouring countries such as Vietnam and Thailand.

He highlighted that Apple had invested around 244 trillion rupiah (US$15 billion) in manufacturing facilities in Vietnam, where its market sales reached about 1.5 million units. In contrast, he noted that Apple had only invested 1.5 trillion rupiah in Indonesia, despite selling about 2.5 million units there.

“Based on the technocratic assessment, the investment amount has not met the figure that we consider fair,” he said. “We want Apple to return to do business here but we need a fair resolution.”

Apple’s offer comes as Southeast Asia’s largest economy last month banned sales of the tech giant’s newest iPhone 16, citing that the company failed to meet content requirements that smartphones and tablets sold domestically should comprise at least 40 per cent locally-made parts.