The minister further claimed that Apple had already “taken a look” at its potential manufacturing site in Batam.
“The (construction) should begin immediately, we are targeting to have this facility completed by early 2026.”
While Rosan appeared to suggest promising developments in the negotiations, Agus commented that the US$1 billion investment promise is still “insufficient”.
Tempo reported that Apple has to meet four of the “fairness principles” established by Jakarta, including assessing the tech giant’s investment activities in other countries, investments made by other mobile phone manufacturers in Indonesia, the potential for increased value and income for Indonesia and the creation of local employment opportunities.
“We want to see how big Apple’s investments are in other countries, for example Vietnam and India and secondly, how much has Apple’s competitors like Samsung, Xiaomi and Huawei has invested in Indonesia,” Agus was quoted as saying by the Jakarta Globe.
He added: “Most importantly, (we want to see) how big is the job creation from Apple’s investment.”
He further said that Indonesia does not want to decide on a deadline for Apple to invest in the country, noting the tech giant should take its time to ensure that its investments would create as many jobs.
“We don’t set a time frame, we can reach a done deal today, tomorrow or next week or even next month … all that matters to us is the substance (of the investment),” he added.
Meanwhile, Ammann – the Apple executive – told reporters that he had a “great discussion” with the Indonesian ministers.
According to Reuters, Apple currently has no manufacturing facilities in Indonesia but has set up application developer academies since 2018 that allows it to sell older models of its products.
