Source: Finance Association

$Apple (AAPL.US)$CEO Cook said on Wednesday after meeting with Indonesian President Joko Widodo that Apple would consider setting up a manufacturing plant in Indonesia.

Cook arrived in the Indonesian capital Jakarta on Tuesday after completing his visit to Vietnam. After meeting with Widodo, he told reporters, “We talked about the (Indonesian) president's vision to develop manufacturing in Indonesia, and this is something we will consider.”

The Widodo government has been working for many years to bring global manufacturing companies into the country to drive economic development, while Apple continues to seek diversification of its supply chain. The company has moved some of its production capacity to Southeast Asia in recent years, and recently to India.

“I think the investment potential in Indonesia is endless. I think there are lots of places worth investing in, and we're investing. We believe in this country,” Cook said.

Indonesian Minister of Industry Agus Gumiwang Kartasasmita (Agus Gumiwang Kartasasmita) also attended the conference. In an interview, he said that if Apple decides to establish production facilities in Indonesia, then it will be able to produce products locally for export.

He said, “We will discuss how Apple's factory in Indonesia can become part of the global supply chain,” he added, adding that even if Apple does not build a factory, it can cooperate with Indonesian companies to obtain parts. The Indonesian government wants Apple to make more use of mobile phone parts made in Indonesia.

Indonesia's Minister of Communications and Information Budi Arie Setiadi (Budi Arie Setiadi) said that he hopes Indonesia can join the global supply chain for Apple products. “Apple is part of Indonesia's ecosystem to attract investment and focus on future technological progress.”

Indonesia's ambitions

Currently, Apple does not have production facilities in Indonesia, but it has previously established three developer academies.

Cook's trip will also inaugurate Indonesia's fourth developer college in Bali. Including this new college, the total cost of the four colleges reached IDR 1.6 trillion (approximately US$99 million).

As the fourth most populous country in the world, Indonesia has not been able to reach its potential for a long time. Multinational manufacturing giants that are anxious to diversify their supply chains have mostly set their sights on Asian countries other than Indonesia, such as Vietnam and India. Currently, Apple has established most of its key production sites for iPads, AirPods, and Apple Watch in Vietnam.

But in fact, Indonesia also has its own unique advantages. More than two-thirds of the country's population is of working age, and this demographic dividend is expected to continue into the 2030s. In recent years, the Widodo government has actually been continuously trying to use the country's reserves of nickel and other raw materials to attract multinational companies to invest and build factories in the country.

In addition to Cook, Indonesian Communications and Information Minister Budi said on Wednesday that Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella will also visit Indonesia at the end of April.

Apple's Southeast Asia layout

Of course, from just visiting Hanoi, Vietnam at the beginning of the week to now coming to Jakarta all the time, it's not hard for people to see from Cook's intensive Southeast Asia trip that Apple wants to explore more markets and investment opportunities in the region.

Chris Miller, an associate professor at Tufts University (Tufts University), said Apple has increased its investment in India and Vietnam, but it is likely that it is also looking for other partners in Southeast Asia to increase manufacturing production and assembly operations.

During Cook's visit to Vietnam, Apple just announced that it will increase investment in Vietnam's supply chain.

Apple said in a statement that in addition to supporting local schools' clean water programs, the company will also increase spending on Vietnamese suppliers. According to Apple statistics, since 2019, the company has spent nearly 400 trillion VND (about 16 billion US dollars) in Vietnam through its supply chain partners.

On social media X, Cook was also full of hopes for this trip on the first day of his visit to Indonesia. He tweeted on Tuesday, “Hello, Indonesia, are you ready? Tasting chicken skewers (Sate Ayam) with iPhone photographer Sofyan Pratama was the perfect start to my trip to Jakarta! I'm looking forward to meeting more Indonesian creative communities and developers here!”

editor/tolk