Apple (AAPL) may soon be allowed to resume selling the iPhone 16 in Indonesia, after a government minister hinted that the country and company were close to agreeing an investment plan.
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Speaking on the sidelines of the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, investment minister Rosan Roeslani told Bloomberg on Tuesday, January 21st, “Hopefully within one or two weeks this issue can be resolved.”
Specifically, Indonesia in October banned the marketing and sale of the iPhone 16 model and Apple Watch 10, saying the company had failed to meet local investment regulations requiring that 40% of devices be made from local parts.
“Apple Indonesia has not fulfilled its investment commitment to obtain … certification,” the country’s industry ministry said at the time.
Resolution to AAPL Case?
Earlier this month, AAPL struck a $1 billion deal to build a facility producing its Airtag tracking device on Indonesia’s Batam island, close to Singapore. However, the government said that iPhone 16 models were still banned since this investment would not count as a locally made iPhone part.
Now, however, there seems to be progress taking place in what remains an important market for the company. As of October, Apple had around 12% of the mobile phone market share in Indonesia, among the lowest in the Asia-Pacific region, according to Statista.
Nevertheless, with a young, increasingly tech-savvy population of around 280 million people, the industry ministry notes Indonesia remains one of the largest markets for iPhone sales, reaching 2.3 million units in 2023.
It comes after a near 9% decline in AAPL shares this year and after weakness in Asian sales, particularly in the greater China region, which has prompted some analyst downgrades. Jefferies analyst Edison Lee downgraded Apple to a Sell and reduced his price target to $200.75. Meanwhile, Loop Capital analyst Ananda Baruah downgraded the stock from Buy to Hold with a revised price target of $230 per share.
Is Apple a Buy or Sell Right Now?
Overall, analysts have a Moderate Buy consensus rating on AAPL stock based on 19 Buys, six Holds, and four Sells assigned in the past three months. Following an 8.7% decline this year the average AAPL price target of $244.36 per share implies 9.8% upside potential.
