Apple's chief executive Tim Cook has hinted at a potential shift in the tech giant's manufacturing landscape, revealing that they will "look at" the possibility of setting up shop in Indonesia.
This came to light during his meeting with Indonesian President Joko Widodo on Wednesday. "We talked about the president's desire to see manufacturing in the country, and it's something that we will look at," Mr Cook post-discussion. Mr Widodo's team has been on a mission for years to attract manufacturers to Indonesia to boost economic growth.
Meanwhile, Apple is on the hunt for ways to reduce its reliance on China, where the bulk of its devices are put together. The tech behemoth has already started shifting some of its production to nations such as Vietnam and, more recently, India, especially after the COVID-19 clampdowns in China caused major delays in Apple's supply chain.
"I think the investment ability in Indonesia is endless. I think that, there is a lot of great places to invest, and we're investing. We believe in the country," added Mr Cook. Just a day earlier, Cook was in Hanoi having a sit-down with Vietnamese Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh, where he announced Apple's plans to deepen its investment in Vietnam and ramp up expenditure on local suppliers in the key Southeast Asian manufacturing hub.
"Given the slowing Chinese economy as well as the Chinese government's ongoing efforts to squeeze out foreign companies and replace them with domestic brands, Apple wants alternatives for manufacturing," explained Chris Miller, an associate professor at Tufts University specialising in technology and geopolitics.
"It has already invested more in India and Vietnam, but it is likely looking at other partners in South East Asia to additional manufacturing and assembly operations," he added.
Mr Cook's recent trip to Indonesia follows hot on the heels of Apple's announcement of its fourth Apple Developer Academy in the country, set to open its doors in Bali. The tech giant first initiated this programme to nurture app developers in Indonesia back in 2018, starting in Jakarta.
While Apple doesn't have any manufacturing plants in Indonesia, the firm has declared a hefty investment of 1.6 trillion rupiah ($99 million) into the nation's app developer scene. The Indonesian government under President Joko Widodo has been playing its cards to attract manufacturing to the country by capitalising on its nickel and other raw material reserves.
It has implemented bans on the export of raw commodities like nickel and bauxite to force companies to establish refineries within its borders. Following his discussion with President Widodo, Cook also had a meeting with Indonesia's president-elect Prabowo Subianto, who currently serves as the defense minister and is expected to assume office in October.
In another significant development, Indonesia's minister of communication and information, Budi Arie Setiadi, announced that Microsoft boss Satya Nadella is scheduled to make a visit to Indonesia towards the end of April.