Indonesia has banned the marketing of Google Pixel phones, accusing the tech giant of not investing enough in the country, announced the Ministry of Industry, a few days after blocking sales of the iPhone 16.
Jakarta is trying to boost investment by foreign tech companies by requiring 40% of their cell phones to be made from parts from Indonesia
“We have announced that as long as these products do not comply with the regime that we have demanded, they cannot be sold in Indonesia”said Febri Hendri Antoni Arif, spokesperson for the Ministry of Industry, during a press conference held on Thursday.
“As for Google Pixel, they have not obtained the TKDN certificate” he added, referring to the acronym of the plan which imposes the 40% rule.
Google’s Indonesia branch did not immediately respond to AFP’s requests for comment.
Southeast Asia’s largest economy has a young, tech-savvy population, with more than 100 million people under the age of 30 – out of a total population of 280 million – which tech companies see it as a godsend.
The smartphone market in Indonesia is largely dominated by Chinese companies Xiaomi, Oppo and Vivo, as well as South Korean company Samsung according to Counterpoint Research.
The ministry said last week that phones blocked from sales could still enter Indonesian territory, as long as they were not sold.
On Tuesday, the iPhones 16 were blocked for the same reasons.
Apple does not have stores in Indonesia. Its CEO Tim Cook visited Indonesia in April, as the technology giant sought to invest in the country and diversify its supply chains away from China.
