Last week we reported that Indonesia blocked the sale of the iPhone 16 series and the Apple Watch Series 10 for failing to meet some of the requirements set by the government. Last weekend, Industry Minister Gumiwang Kartasasmita said the sale was blocked because Apple did not fulfill the promise of investment made several years ago.
In order to enable their products to be sold to the Indonesian market, Apple promised to invest 1.71 trillion Rupiah (~RM 473 million). So far Apple has invested as much as 1.48 trillion Rupiah (~RM 410 million) only. For this reason the Ministry of Industry does not officially provide the IMEI number required for devices to be sold in Indonesia. According to Indonesian law, foreign companies must meet the requirement of 40% local content to operate in the country.
Gumiwang Kartasasmita also said that if the public sees the iPhone 16 series being used in Indonesia, they can report it to the authorities so that action can be taken. Despite the official sales ban, the iPhone 16 series is still being sold in Indonesia after it was brought in from neighboring countries such as Malaysia and Singapore.