Heaptalk, Jakarta — Apple’s CEO Tim Cook has met with Indonesia’s Seventh President, Joko’ Jokowi’ Widodo, to discuss several investment opportunities in the country.
Apart from strengthening its investment through Indonesia’s human resources development by expanding the fourth Apple Developer Academy in Bali, the President also proposes the leader of this behemoth company to invest in the Smart City development at the new capital IKN.
As the Minister of Communication and Informatics, Budi Arie Setiadi, conveyed, “President Joko Widodo has conveyed to Apple how they participate in the smart city development at IKN. The government will hold further discussions, and we will oversee aspects of the standardization of telecommunications devices,”
Furthermore, Jokowi also unlocks more extensive investment possibilities for Apple regarding deeper integration into the global supply chain sector through telecommunications device manufacturing. According to the President, the possibility of manufacturing Apple in Indonesia is a brilliant move as the ASEAN region is currently a big market for Apple, whereby the archipelago contributes up to 45% of the market in the area.
Responding to this plan, Minister of Industry Agus Gumiwang said the country produced almost 50 million cell phones in 2023, while around 2.8 million units are imported. Based on his statement, about 5% of this output is products from Apple, with an import value of USD1 – USD2 billion.
“The Ministry of Industry will conduct business matching, and we already have a list of cellphone components produced in Indonesia. The President also persuaded Tim Cook to build an innovation center that collaborates with Indonesia’s best universities for human resources development.” Minister Agus affirmed.
In Apple’s effort to help local talents looking to embark on careers in the region’s growing iOS app economy, the company has unlocked Indonesia’s fourth Developer Academy in Bali. Since Indonesia’s first Developer Academy launched in Jakarta in 2018, Apple has opened academies in Surabaya and Batam, and more than 2,000 aspiring developers have completed the program. Based on Minister Agus’s statement, Apple has injected about US$98.5 million (around Rp1.6 trillion) funds to establish these four Apple Developer Academy facilities in Indonesia.
“The future is very bright, and the investment ability in Indonesia is endless. We believe in the country, and we had a great conversation with the President to discuss how much potential there is in the country and our commitment to the country,” CEO of Apple, Tim Cook, said after the meeting agenda in the Merdeka Palace. (4/18)
