Indonesia is on the verge of reaching an agreement with Apple Inc. that could lift a ban on the sale of the iPhone 16 in the country, Bloomberg reports, citing a senior government minister.
The ban, imposed in October due to concerns over domestic manufacturing requirements, has been a point of contention between the tech giant and Southeast Asia’s largest economy.
Investment Minister Rosan Roeslani expressed optimism about the situation during an interview with the agency at the World Economic Forum in Davos on Tuesday.
“I strongly believe it will resolve very, very soon,” he stated. “Hopefully within one or two weeks this issue can be resolved.”
The ban was enacted after Indonesian authorities determined that Apple had failed to meet local manufacturing requirements for smartphones and tablets. Apple has since been engaged in ongoing discussions with the government to formulate an investment package that would satisfy these regulations and allow the sale of its latest devices.
Indonesia’s push for local manufacturing content has been a key point of negotiation. In January, Bloomberg reported that the Minister for Industry, Agus Gumiwang Kartasasmita, rejected Apple’s offer of a $1 billion investment for one of its suppliers to establish an airtag production plant in Indonesia. Kartasasmita insisted that Apple must fulfill regulations mandating a certain percentage of iPhone or iPhone component manufacturing to be done within the country.
“The way they calculate it is different I think,” Roeslani explained, referring to the discrepancies in how local content requirements are being assessed. “Now they find a solution on that one, so hopefully they accept the discrepancies so we can have the iPhone 16 sold in Indonesia.”
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