Dr. Fithra Faisal Hastiadi, S.E., MSE., M.A., an economist from the University of Indonesia, is optimistic that Apple Inc. CEO Tim Cook’s plan to explore investment opportunities in Indonesia can have a spillover effect on smart device consumers in Indonesia.
Fithra cited the example of how the spillover effect of manufacturing one of Apple’s product lines, the iPhone, in China, led smart device manufacturers in the bamboo curtain country to compete in producing better products.
“China, which was once a stronghold for Apple’s production, can now produce its own smart devices. During the time of Xiaomi, then Huawei, and now it has become a king of its own in the region. One of the reasons is the spillover effect from Apple’s production,” said Fithra when contacted in Jakarta on Thursday.
Therefore, according to Fithra, knowledge transfer should be ensured as part of Apple Inc.’s investment plan in Indonesia by the government.
The most important thing to consider is that Apple Inc. is not the first technology company to explore investment opportunities in Indonesia. Previously, there was Samsung, but other countries successfully attracted investment. Not to mention Tesla, Elon Musk’s company.
According to Fithra, Indonesia must learn from past investment exploration to prevent the incident of investors being snatched by competitors from recurring.
For example, by simplifying the business and investment processes in developing concrete technology infrastructure, or by providing incentives to companies that use local suppliers.
As a leading global technology company, Apple is reportedly interested in exploring investments in various fields in Indonesia, including manufacturing plants, distribution centers, research and development, as well as information and communication technology infrastructure.
Apple does this because, according to Fithra, of two reasons. First, the factor of relocation or the transfer of factories to increase business resilience to global conditions, such as the COVID-19 pandemic, and to avoid dependence on production in a country that may impose restrictions.
Second, the emergence of “friendshoring” or moving away from enemies and getting closer to allies due to the impact of conflicts.
Due to these two factors, the search for a country close to the previous factory location (China) is necessary to ensure continuous production and maintain efficiency.
It is evident that this phenomenon is currently occurring. First Tesla, followed by Apple, is exploring similar opportunities in Indonesia, one of the ASEAN member countries.
The relatively closer location of ASEAN countries to China and their neutral ideological tendencies make American companies interested in exploring opportunities to shift their production activities there.
If Indonesia can become the primary target in ASEAN, this experience could attract interest from other investors as well.
“Do not hinder various things, later competitors who are seeing this might say, ‘Wow, Apple wants to enter Indonesia, what is Indonesia offering?’ They could double their offerings to be even better,” said Fithra.
(Source: ANTARA)
