In Indonesia vs Apple, is victory a double-edged sword?

Indonesia’s stringent local content rules may deter other tech firms wary of navigating regulatory challenges, analysts warn

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Customers inspect Apple iPhones at a shopping centre in Bali in February. Indonesia has secured a US$300 million investment from Apple, reopening the door for iPhone 16 sales in the country. Photo: EPA-EFE

Published: 8:00am, 12 Mar 2025

Indonesia’s stringent local content regulations have helped it secure a US$300 million investment from Apple, reopening the door for iPhone 16 sales in the country, but analysts have warned it may also deter other tech giants wary of navigating regulatory challenges.

Last October, Jakarta banned the sale of the new iPhone 16, citing Apple’s failure to meet local content requirements that mandated a certain percentage of components or production processes originate within Indonesia.

In response, Apple proposed US$10 million in new investments, and later offered as much as US$1 billion – an amount Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto deemed acceptable, according to sources cited by Bloomberg.

Despite this, negotiations stalled, and the Ministry of Industry upheld the ban while discussions continued for more favourable terms for both parties.

Last month, both sides agreed on a US$300 million investment plan, which would include a software research-and-development centre near Jakarta, as well as plants that would produce components for Apple products such as AirPods.

On Friday, the industry ministry announced that the government had restarted issuing local-content certificates for Apple products. There is still no date set on when iPhone 16s will be sold in the country.