(Bloomberg) — Indonesia has blocked Apple Inc. from selling its latest iPhone 16 devices in Southeast Asia’s largest economy, saying the company has yet to meet domestic investment requirements.
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The iPhone 16, launched in September, cannot be marketed domestically as local unit PT Apple Indonesia has not fulfilled the country’s 40% local content requirements for smart phones, the Ministry of Industry said in a statement on Oct. 25.
That’s a road bump for Apple which has otherwise enjoyed healthy sales of its flagship product, especially as demand firms up in China. Indonesia is a $1-trillion economy, where the number of active mobile phones is estimated at over 350 million — much more than the nation’s 270 million population.
The industry ministry earlier said that Apple has only invested 1.5 trillion rupiah ($95 million) in Indonesia, below its commitment of 1.7 trillion rupiah. Apple has been building developer academies in lieu of establishing a local manufacturing facility.
About 9,000 iPhone 16 units have so far entered Indonesia, hand-carried by passengers and crew or delivered by post, the ministry said. However, these are only allowed for personal use and cannot be traded.
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