Pictured is the Grand Indonesia shopping mall in Jakarta on Friday, January 5, 2024.
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BEIJING – Huawei subsidiary Honor said on Tuesday it plans to begin selling smartphones in Indonesia by the end of March, becoming the latest Chinese company to enter the market that banned Apple iPhone 16 exceeds the needs of domestic production.
Indonesia requires smartphones sold in the country to 40% of components must be domestically produced.. This rule prevents Apple from selling its latest phone in the market where it is reportedly being sold. negotiations for a $1 billion investment.
Honor has an office in Indonesia and works with one local manufacturing partner, Justin Li, the Chinese company’s president of South Pacific operations, told reporters last week. He said the foldable phone will be among the first Honor products sold locally – 10 items in the mid- and high-end segment.
The company plans to offer about 30 products in Indonesia by the end of the year, ranging from phones to tablets. The Southeast Asian country is home to the world’s fourth largest country by populationjust behind the United States.
“Although 80% of the market is dominated by devices priced under $200, Indonesia, as Southeast Asia’s largest and fastest-growing economy, represents enormous potential for long-term growth,” Canalys analyst Chew Le Xuan said in an email.
“Indonesia is emerging as a key market in Southeast Asia due to its rapid economic growth and expanding middle class,” Chew said, noting that the country accounts for 35% of smartphone shipments in the region and could serve as a strategic regional hub.
As of November, Oppo, Xiaomi and Transsion – all based in China – held the top three spots in Indonesia for smartphone shipments. according to Canalys data. Oppo, headquartered in Shenzhen, held global launch of flagship phone Find X8 in Indonesia, where the company also has a plant.
Samsung ranked fourth in Indonesia with a 16% share, behind Vivo, another Chinese brand, according to Canalys.
Excluding China and Japan, just under 8% of Apple sales native to the Asia-Pacific region.
Lee said the decision to enter Indonesia was not related to Apple’s presence in the country and was confident in Honor’s ability to compete. He said Honor had been watching the Indonesian market for years before redoubling its expansion efforts in the past six months.
While he declined to say the current difference between Indonesian and Chinese employees, Li said Honor still hires in the country and plans to have a predominantly local workforce in the future.
Honor plans to open at least 10 of its own stores in Indonesia this year, as well as sell products through a local retailer, Lee said.
Outside of China, Honor is mainly sold in Europe and parts of Southeast Asia. Its phones are not sold directly in the US. The company said that in December, more than half of its sales came from outside China for the first time.
Honor, which plans to go public, was spun off from Chinese telecom giant Huawei in November 2020 after the parent company was hit by US sanctions. Huawei said it has no complaints promotions in Honoror participate in business decisions.