Apple to Invest $44m in Indonesian R&D Facility
Jakarta. US technology giant Apple will invest $44 million to build a research and development facility in Bumi Serpong Damai, Banten, the Minister of Industry said on Thursday (30/03).
The scheduled investment is part of Apple's commitment to comply with Indonesia's local-content requirements for smartphones, which the company must comply with if it wishes to continue selling its products in the country.
"It's expected that [Apple] will recruit 400 skilled workers by September," Industry Minister Airlangga Hartarto said.
Airlangga said the facility, dubbed the Apple Innovation Center, will work on applications for enterprise clients, leaving the development of retail consumer products to other facilities outside the country.
"Apple's investment in Indonesia shows that the government policy on local content, innovation and investment schemes, which was introduced six months ago, has succeeded," Airlangga said.
Apple will begin to work with Bina Nusantara University in Central Jakarta in the coming months to train employees destined for its research and development facility in Banten.
"Apple told me that it expects to begin training [employees] by as early as May," the minister said.
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