Telecommunications and Information Technology Minister Rudiantara said Apple would arrange one research and development center near the capital, but the federal government encouraged the corporate to construct facilities outside Java as well.
Industry Minister Airlangga Hartanto previously said the 2 other locations were more likely to be Bandung, West Java, and Yogyakarta. The government has set June this yr because the deadline for Apple to launch the facilities.
Apple, which missed out on selling its iPhone 6 in Indonesia last yr, lost out to rival Samsung in securing Southeast Asia’s largest smartphone market.
Samsung Indonesia vice chairman Lee Khang Hyun said his company’s manufacturing plant and R&D center in Cikarang, West Java, helped it meet local content requirements. Lee said Samsung has set a goal of 40% local content share this yr.
Samsung currently controls 26 percent of the Indonesian smartphone market, based on a report by global research firm International Data Corporation (IDC). In second place is China’s OPPO with 19 percent market share, followed by Taiwan’s Asus with 9 percent.
