Industry Minister Airlangga Hartanto supports US-based technology giant Apple’s plan to build innovation centers in Indonesia. He hopes the facilities will trigger the use of domestic components and raise the number of app developers in Indonesia.
“They have expressed their commitment to build innovation centers along with Apple’s plan to enter Indonesia’s market,” Airlangga said in a press release yesterday, October 27, 2016.
The Apple innovation centers will be built in three locations, aimed at creating the latest digital technology, including the development of apps that can be used on their production devices.
According to Airlangga, Apple sees a huge market potential in Indonesia. In the last five years, the number of mobile telecommunications subscribers has increased four times to 211 million. In Indonesia, the number mobile phones used is estimated to reach 300 million units.
The Industry Ministry noted that in 2014, Indonesia imported 57.7 million units of mobile phones, 59,000 units of handheld computers and 5.7 million units of tablet computers. In 2015, the number declined; replaced by products assembled in Indonesia.
Today, there are 17 manufacturing industries capable of assembling mobile phones, handheld computers, and tablet computers.