JAKARTA, Indonesia (AP) – Apple CEO Tim Cook spoke with Indonesian President Joko Widodo on Wednesday and said the company is “considering” manufacturing in Indonesia.
“We discussed the president’s desire to tour domestic manufacturing, and we will continue to monitor that,” Cook told reporters after the meeting.
Widodo’s government has long worked to bring manufacturing to the country to boost economic development, and Apple is seeking to diversify its supply chain away from China, where most of its smartphones and tablets are assembled.
The company has begun moving some production to countries such as Vietnam, and recently to India, after its shipments were repeatedly interrupted due to shutdowns in China to prevent the spread of the coronavirus. I started.
“I think Indonesia’s investment capacity is limitless. I think there are many great places to invest and we are investing. We believe in this country,” Cook said.
A day earlier, Mr. Cook met with Vietnamese Prime Minister Pham Minh Trinh in Hanoi, where he said Apple plans to increase investment in Vietnam and increase spending with suppliers in its Southeast Asian manufacturing hub.
“Given China’s economic slowdown and the Chinese government’s continued efforts to crowd out foreign companies and replace them with domestic brands,” said Chris Miller, an associate professor of technology and geopolitics at Tufts University, Apple wants an alternative to manufacturing.” .
“The company is already making further investments in India and Vietnam, but is likely also looking to other partners in Southeast Asia for additional manufacturing and assembly operations,” Miller said.
Cook’s visit to Indonesia comes after Apple announced it would open the country’s fourth Apple Developer Academy in Bali. The company launched its first app developer training program in Indonesia’s capital Jakarta in 2018.
Widodo’s government is seeking to leverage the country’s reserves of nickel and other raw materials to bring in manufacturing, banning exports of raw materials such as nickel and bauxite and requiring companies to build domestic refineries.
Indonesia’s Minister of Communications and Information Budi Aryeh Setiadi announced on Wednesday that Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella will visit Indonesia at the end of April. ___
Associated Press writers Victoria Mirko in Jakarta and Zeng Su in Hong Kong contributed to this report.
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