Pictured is Grand Indonesia Shopping Center in Jakarta, Friday, January 5, 2024.
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BEIJING — Huawei spinoff Honor announced Tuesday that it plans to start selling smartphones in Indonesia by the end of March, becoming the latest Chinese company to enter a market that is set to banned Apple's iPhone 16 above the requirements of domestic production.
Indonesia requires this for smartphones sold in the country 40% of their components must come from the country. This rule prevented Apple from selling its latest phone in the market where it is rumored to be is negotiating an investment worth $1 billion.
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. He said the foldable phone will be among the first set of products to be sold locally by Honor – 10 items in the mid-to-high-end segment.
By the end of the year, the company aims to offer about 30 products in Indonesia, ranging from phones to tablets. The Southeast Asian country is home to the entire world the fourth largest country by populationjust behind the United States.
“While 80% of the market is dominated by devices priced below $200, Indonesia, as Southeast Asia's largest and fastest-growing economy, presents enormous long-term growth potential,” 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 a growing middle class,” Chiew said, noting that the country accounts for 35% of smartphone shipments in the region and could serve as a strategic regional hub.
In November, Oppo, Xiaomi and Transsion – all based in China – held the top three spots in Indonesia for smartphone shipments, according to Canalys. Shenzhen-based Oppo held an event in November global launch of the flagship Find X8 phone in Indonesia, where the company also has a factory.
Samsung ranked fourth in Indonesia with a 16% share, alongside Vivo, another Chinese brand, according to Canalys data.
Excluding China and Japan, just under 8% of Apple's sales they come from Asia and the Pacific.
Li claimed that the decision to enter the Indonesian market was independent of Apple's presence in the country and he was confident that Honor would be able to compete. He said Honor had been keeping an eye on the Indonesian market for years before doubling down on its expansion efforts in the last six months.
Although he declined to specify the current breakdown of Indonesian and Chinese staff, Li said Honor continues to hire in the country and plans to hire mostly local workers in the future.
Li said Honor plans to open at least 10 of its own stores in Indonesia this year, as well as sell through a local retailer.
Outside of China, Honor mainly sells 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, i.e plans to make a public appearancewas spun off from the Chinese telecommunications giant Huawei in November 2020 after the parent company was hit by US sanctions. Huawei said it doesn't have any shares in Honor or you are involved in business decisions.