Apple will build a Research and Development (R&D) Facility in Indonesia. This plan was conveyed by the Minister of Industry (Menperin) Agus Gumiwang Kartasasmita after an agreement was reached between the Ministry of Industry and Apple regarding investment.
The United States (US) technology giant agreed to continue its investment commitment in Indonesia and chose an innovation scheme to meet the requirements for the domestic component level (TKDN). The innovation scheme will later take the form of an R&D facility.
“The next point that we always pursue, and Alhamdulillah with very tough negotiations, can be in the MoU agreement between Indonesia and Apple, namely the establishment of a Research and Development (R&D) Facility in Indonesia,” said Agus in a press conference at the Ministry of Industry Office, quoted Thursday (27/2/2025).
So far, said Agus, Apple has only built R&D facilities in the US and Brazil. Thus, Apple’s R&D in Indonesia will be the second in the world outside the US, as well as the first in Asia. Agus said the facility will be built in the BSD Tangerang Special Economic Zone (KEK), Banten,
“So far, Apple has only built R&D facilities in America, only one country outside America, namely Brazil. We will be the second country outside America and the first country in Asia to have Apple R&D,” he said.
The establishment and implementation of R&D will involve 15 universities in Indonesia, some of which are the Bandung Institute of Technology (ITB), University of Indonesia (UI), Gadjah Mada University (UGM), and others. Agus assessed that Apple sees Indonesia as an important country for their business so that they are willing to build R&D facilities. In addition, the quality of Indonesian human resources (HR) is ready to support the establishment of R&D facilities.
The Apple R&D Center Indonesia will later focus on HR development which includes software development in the fields of health, internet of things (IoT), and artificial intelligence. In the signed MoU, the iPhone 16 manufacturer stated that it agreed to build the Apple Software Innovation and Technology Institute to the Apple Professional Developer Academy. Apple will also establish the Professional Developer Academy and the sustainability of the Apple Academy.
Later in the Apple Professional Academy facility, experts, both Apple Academy graduates and non-graduates will be gathered to carry out technology development activities, and to improve skills for experts who want to add new skills. All of these plans are included in Apple’s new investment plan of US$ 160 million or IDR 2.6 trillion (exchange rate of IDR 16,360). The achievement of the negotiation agreement means that Apple’s TKDN certificate will be issued soon, which is one of the requirements for the iPhone 16 to be sold in Indonesia.
February 27, 2025, detikFinance(https://finance.detik.com/industri/d-7798753/pertama-di-asia-apple-bakal-bangun-fasilitas-riset-di-indonesia)