Indonesia has banned the sale and marketing of Apple’s latest iPhone 16 model, citing the company’s failure to meet local investment requirements.
According to the country’s industry ministry, imported iPhone 16 devices cannot be legally sold in Indonesia because Apple has failed to adhere to a rule mandating that 40 percent of each phone’s components be locally sourced.
As Southeast Asia’s largest economy, Indonesia boasts a young and tech-savvy demographic, with over 100 million people under 30.
However, the absence of an official Apple store has left consumers reliant on resale platforms for access to Apple products.
AFP reports that the ministry’s decision underscores Indonesia’s push to foster local production and support domestic industry.
According to the report, an estimate of about 9,000 units of the new model have entered the country, which has a population of around 280 million.
“The iPhone 16 devices imported by registered importers cannot yet be marketed domestically.
“Apple Indonesia has not fulfilled its investment commitment to obtain… certification,” ministry spokesman Febri Hendri Antoni Arif said in a statement on Friday, October 25, 2024.
