Indonesia has decided to block the sale of the Pixel phone, manufactured by Googlein its territory because the device lacks components manufactured in the country, a requirement that the Government already recently imposed on Apple’s iPhone 16 model.
Febri Hendri Antoni Arief, spokesperson for the Indonesian Ministry of Industry, explained that mobile devices, such as the Google Pixel, require certification to be marketed in Indonesia, and such certification is granted only to those products that meet the requirement of integrating local parts.
Blu Radio – AFP
This criterion seeks to stimulate the local economy through foreign investment, suggesting that companies that do not include Indonesian components can compensate for this lack through direct investments in the country.
In the case of Apple, the Indonesian authorities had already vetoed the sale of the iPhone 16 last month, after pointing out that the multinational did not meet its investment commitments in the archipelago.. According to the Government, Apple maintains a deficit of around 240,000 million rupees (equivalent to about 15.2 million dollars), which has been decisive for the prohibition of the sale of its new model.
However, despite the official veto for the marketing of both devices, the Indonesian citizens will still be able to purchase these models outside the country and bring them back for personal usealthough they will not be able to sell them in Indonesian territory.
The mobile device market in Indonesia is one of the largest in Southeast Asia, with more than 280 million inhabitants and considerable demand for mobile technology. Although international brands such as Apple and Google seek to expand in this market, it is currently dominated by manufacturers such as Oppo from China and Samsung from South Korea, both of which meet local requirements.
Indonesia remains committed to fostering its own technology industry and hopes that measures like this will encourage both Google and Apple to invest in local production and contribute to the country’s economic development.
