Eine Milliarde Dollar später ist der iPhone 16 in Indonäsien immer noch verbanned, für einen wunderbaren Grund.

The iPhone 16 is still banned in India despite Apple's promise to invest a billion dollars into the country's economy.

The Indonesian government initially rejected offers of $10 million, then $100 million. Only after finally implementing an offer worth a billion in value did they meet exactly what the country was demanding.

History So Far

Governments of populous countries are increasingly wise to enter into mutual agreements by making Apple's markets accessible and simultaneously demanding investment capital.

For example, Indonesia had initially rejected Apple's storage license in the country only after setting up large production facilities there.

Indonesia began with a less modest request from Apple: an investment of $109 million in a developer academy there, along with another $10 million for production. If this goal was not fully achieved, however, the government dramatically increased its demands. It banned the iPhone 16 from the sales market and demanded a much larger investment.

Apple initially offered $100 million, but the government spokesperson said that was not enough. It was then known that the country wanted a billion-dollar fund for production in the nation. Last week, it was reported that Apple had agreed to this deal, and it was subsequently revealed that this would be implemented on a large scale for AirTags.

Government Rejects Billion-Dollar Deal

However, although Apple accepted the request amount, Reuters reports that the government still has not lifted the ban on the iPhone 16 – for an odd reason.

This reason? Indonesia now explicitly demands that Apple manufacture iPhone parts in the country; AirTags do not count.

The Minister Agus Gumiwang Kartasasmita said that Apple had closed a deal to build a factory structure for its Airtag-Tracking-devices in Batam, an island near Singapore, but this would still not be considered as a locally manufactured iPhone component.

There is no reason for the authority to issue local content recognition to give Apple the right to sell the iPhone 16, as (the setup) has no direct relationships. The authority only counts phone components.

Indonesia had already played its cards hard here. If Apple had met its conditions, the government committee could have implemented a ban on selling iPhones, and perhaps even during negotiations to show seriousness and speed up the process. Instead, it banned it as the first step.

It is not surprising that the country wants an appropriate share of Apple's investments. India is the fourth most populous nation in the world, behind China, Indonesia, and the USA. It has seen how the Indian government successfully pressured Apple to make massive production investments there and thought it deserved a reasonable share of the pie in expectation of its market with 284 million people.

But one could ask why it is concerned about something that is produced there? A billion-dollar AirTag production is like a billion-dollar iPhone component production. My theory is that it's playing a high-stakes poker game. It wanted Apple to first commit to the AirTag factory and then secure an even larger investment with the iPhone card.

Ultimately, India will probably win. It could receive another billion dollars, but with so many potential customers for the iPhone 16, Apple is likely to offer something better.

Image by Alim on Unsplas