Jakarta (ANTARA) - Industry Minister Agus Gumiwang Kartasasmita stated that his administration is prioritizing job creation in relation to Apple's investment in Indonesia, planned to be negotiated on January 7-8.
On Monday, the minister outlined four principles of justice set by his ministry for Apple, namely Apple's investment in other countries; investment of mobile phones, handheld computers, and tablets by other manufacturers in Indonesia; added value and income for Indonesia; and absorption of labor in the ecosystem.
"We prioritize four principles of justice, but the most important is job creation," he emphasized.
Hence, during the negotiation process, he encouraged Apple to build a manufacturing facility in Indonesia. In connection with the earlier discourse on Apple's US$1 billion investment, Kartasasmita remarked that the tech giant's investment is relatively modest compared to the total sales of its products in Indonesia.
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"The US$1 billion investment plan, compared to the four principles of justice and Apple's total sales in Indonesia, which are recorded at around Rp32 trillion (US$1,9 billion), is considered small," he pointed out.
Earlier, Minister of Investment and Downstreaming Rosan Roeslani announced that Apple would reveal details of its investment in Indonesia this week. Last week, Roeslani stated that Apple would return to Indonesia and announce the investment realization plan on January 7.
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This investment may enable Apple's latest offering, the iPhone 16, to be officially sold in the Indonesian market. The iPhone 16, which was launched for sale on September 20, 2024, could not enter the Indonesian market as it did not meet the 40 percent domestic component level (TKDN) requirement.
According to the Ministry of Industry, only products with a TKDN and company benefit weight exceeding 40 percent can be sold in Indonesia. The government had snubbed Apple's earlier US$100 million investment proposal as it was not considered proportional to its large sales in Indonesia.
