Apple CEO Tim Cook has expressed the company’s interest in exploring manufacturing opportunities in Indonesia. This announcement comes following a meeting between Cook and Indonesian President Joko Widodo, as Apple continues to diversify its supply chain away from its heavy reliance on China.
“We talked about the president’s desire to see manufacturing in the country and it’s something that we will look at. I think the investment ability in Indonesia is endless. I think that there’s a lot of great places to invest. And we’re investing. We believe in the country.”
– Tim Cook, Apple CEO
Indonesia Could be Apple’s Next Manufacuring Hub
This move by Apple is part of a broader strategy to reduce its dependence on China as its primary hub for manufacturing. The COVID-19 pandemic exposed the vulnerabilities of Apple’s heavy reliance on China, as disruptions in operations and production at the company’s main iPhone factory, operated by its assembly partner Foxconn, highlighted the need for diversification.
In the past three years, Apple has been accelerating its efforts to expand its manufacturing base beyond China. Vietnam has emerged as a key beneficiary, becoming one of Apple’s largest manufacturing hubs outside of China, and is where products such as the MacBook, iPad, and Apple Watch are produced.
Cook’s recent visit to Vietnam further underscores the importance of the country in Apple’s supply chain diversification efforts.
Apple has also been ramping up its manufacturing presence in India, where 14% of its iPhones are made. That’s double the amount it produced there last year, according to a report from Bloomberg.
This potential collaboration between Apple and Indonesia could lead to further diversification of Apple’s supply chain and contribute to the country’s industrial development.
Emman has been writing technical and feature articles since 2010. Prior to this, he became one of the instructors at Asia Pacific College in 2008, and eventually landed a job as Business Analyst and Technical Writer at Integrated Open Source Solutions for almost 3 years.
