Apple to open first R&D center in Indonesia this year

Good news to Apple fans in Indonesia — Apple will finally bring its flagship phones to the country this year. The company will open the doors to its first R&D center in the country in the second quarter of this year in the city of Tangerang, reports The Jakarta Post. This means Apple will officially be able to retail its iPhone 7 and 7 Plus in Indonesia now, which the company reportedly plans to launch today.

The move is part of Apple’s efforts to become compliant with local regulations which stipulate that a foreign phone maker needs to have at least 30 percent domestic content in order to sell phones in the country. The company committed to invest $44 million to set up an R&D centre in the country last year.

Apple did not immediately respond to Retail News’s request for comments.

Apple is not alone in moving to boost local content in Indonesia so as to meet regulations and be able to retail its phones in the country. It was reported in November 2015 that Lenovo began producing its 4G phones in the country as part of the company’s commitment to meet the regulation.