Rules mandating the use of locally produced components are the reason for the bans. According to Google, Indonesia does not currently have formal distribution of its Pixel phones.
Indonesia prohibits the sale of Google phones: Days after banning Apple’s iPhone 16.
Jakarta: Days after banning sales of tech giant Apple’s iPhone 16, Indonesia announced that it has prohibited sales of cellphones manufactured by Alphabet’s Google due to regulations requiring the use of locally manufactured components.
Sales of Google Pixel phones were prohibited in Indonesia due to the company’s failure to comply with regulations requiring that at least 40% of the components in some domestically sold smartphones be made locally.
“We are advocating for these regulations to ensure equity for all Indonesian investors,” Febri Hendri Antoni Arief, spokesman for the industry ministry, stated on Thursday. “Google products cannot be sold here because they have not followed the plan we established.”
According to Google, Indonesia does not currently have formal distribution of its Pixel phones.
Customers can purchase Google Pixel phones abroad as long as they pay the required taxes, according to Febri, who also mentioned that the nation will take into account deactivating phones that are being sold illegally.
A week prior, Indonesia said that it had prohibited the domestic sale of the iPhone 16 due to noncompliance with local content regulations.
In order to comply with these regulations, businesses typically source parts domestically or form alliances with regional vendors to enhance their use of domestic components.
In Indonesia, Google and Apple are not the leading manufacturers of smartphones. According to a May report by research firm IDC, the Chinese company OPPO and the South Korean company Samsung were the top two smartphone manufacturers in the first quarter of 2024.
Due to its sizable and technologically literate populace, Indonesia is a prime destination for investments in the ICT sector.
The Center of Economic and Law Studies think tank’s director, Bhima Yudhistira, called the action “pseudo” protectionism that undermines investor confidence and harms consumers.
“This makes investors who want to invest in Indonesia feel uneasy,” he stated.
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(Notice: The Reuters news service automatically created this report. Its content is not The Awadh Times Global News’ responsibility.)
