While Apple negotiates Indonesia sales ban, another Chinese smartphone maker is entering the country

cnbc.com:

BEIJING — Huawei spinoff Honor announced Tuesday it plans to launch smartphone sales in Indonesia by the end of March, becoming the latest Chinese company to enter a market that has banned Apple's iPhone 16 over domestic production requirements.

Indonesia requires that for smartphones sold in the country, 40% of their components must be domestically sourced. That rule has prevented Apple from selling its newest phone in the market, where it is reportedly negotiating a $1 billion investment.

Honor has an office in Indonesia and is working with one local manufacturing partner, Justin Li, the Chinese company's president of South Pacific operations, told reporters last week. He said a folding phone will be among Honor's first set of locally sold products — 10 items in the medium to high-end segment.

The company aims to offer around 30 products from phones to tablets in Indonesia by the end of the year. The Southeast Asian country is home to the world's fourth-largest country by population, just behind the United States.

«Although 80% of the market is dominated by devices priced under $200, as Southeast Asia's largest and fastest-growing economy, Indonesia presents immense potential for long-term growth,» Canalys analyst Chiew Le Xuan said in an email.

«Indonesia is emerging as a key market in Southeast Asia, driven by rapid economic growth and an expanding middle class,» Chiew said, noting the country accounts for 35% of smartphone shipments in the region and can serve as a strategic regional hub.

As of November, Oppo, Xiaomi and Transsion — all China-based — held the top three spots in Indonesia by smartphone shipments, according to Canalys. Shenzhen-based Oppo in November held its global launch for its flagship Find X8