Apple CEO Tim Cook met with President Joko Widodo (Jokowi) on the State Palace on Wednesday, April 17, giving the Indonesian government the chance to further promote Apple’s investment within the country. During the meeting, Jokowi asked Apple to take part in the assembly of iPhones and MacBooks in Indonesia.
Cook said Apple would consider President Jokowi’s request to construct an Apple factory in Indonesia. He also emphasized that Indonesia is a strategic marketplace for Apple with significant investment potential. Cook expressed confidence in investing in Indonesia despite Apple’s 2016 decision not to construct a factory within the country.
Earlier, Industry Minister Agus Gumiwang confirmed that an agreement had been reached to construct an Apple factory in Indonesia, starting with the usage of local components. He noted that components for HP products manufactured in Indonesia could potentially be utilized by Apple. Agus also mentioned that Jokowi invited Apple to take part in the event of a sensible city within the Indonesian capital (IKN) in Nusantara.
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Cook’s visit to Indonesia followed Apple’s announcement of its fourth Apple Developer Academy within the country, based in Bali. The program was originally launched in 2018 to coach app developers in Indonesia, starting in Jakarta. Currently, Apple Developer Academy can also be present in Surabaya, Batam and Tangerang.
Although Apple has no manufacturing facilities in Indonesia, the corporate announced a 1.6 trillion rupiah (about $99 million) investment within the country’s app developer ecosystem, based on AP.
In recent years, the Jokowi administration has worked diligently to draw manufacturing investment to Indonesia as a part of efforts to spice up economic growth, while Apple has sought to diversify its supply chain away from China, where most of its smartphones and tablets are assembled.
Over the past three years, Apple has stepped up efforts to cut back its dependence on China as a producing hub, especially after the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic. Covid disruptions have impacted operations and production at Apple’s foremost iPhone factory in China, operated by its assembly partner Foxconn. Since then, Apple has been considering expanding its manufacturing base beyond China.
Indonesia goals to follow in Vietnam’s footsteps and develop into Apple’s foremost manufacturing center outside China. Apple has also increased production in India. As a result, Indonesia is looking for to develop into a part of the availability chain of components for the worldwide technology industry.
Minister of Communications and Information Technology Budi Arie Setiadi mentioned several advantages that might accrue to Apple if Apple built a producing facility in Indonesia. According to Budi, an important points of implementing this plan will likely be adding value and increasing employment opportunities. This is predicted to guide to lower prices of Apple products in Indonesia.
Budi also explained that currently only two of the 360 components of Apple products are manufactured in Indonesia, while 72 components are manufactured in Vietnam. In this regard, President Joko Widodo asked Cook to extend the content of domestic components in Apple products in Indonesia.
