Shown here is the Grand Indonesia shopping mall in Jakarta on Friday, January 5, 2024.
Bloomberg | Bloomberg | fake images
BEIJING – Huawei spinoff Honor announced Tuesday that it plans to launch smartphone sales in Indonesia at the end of March, becoming the latest Chinese company to enter a market that has Apple iPhone 16 banned on national production needs.
Indonesia requires that for smartphones sold in the country, 40% of its components must be of national origin.. That rule has prevented Apple from selling its newest phone on the market, where it is supposedly located. negotiating a billion dollar investment.
Honor has an office in Indonesia and is working with a local manufacturing partner, Justin Li, president of the Chinese company’s South Pacific operations, told reporters last week. He said a foldable phone will be among the first set of Honor products sold locally – 10 items in the mid-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 largest. fourth largest country by populationjust 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,” said the Canalys analyst. Chiew Le Xuan 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 that the country accounts for 35% of smartphone shipments in the region and can serve as a strategic regional center.
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 celebrated its global launch of its flagship Find X8 phone in Indonesia, where the company also has a factory.
Samsung ranked fourth in Indonesia with a 16% share, tied with Vivo, another Chinese brand, Canalys data showed.
Excluding China and Japan, just under 8% of Apple sales They come from Asia-Pacific.
Li stated that the decision to enter Indonesia was independent of Apple’s presence in the country and was confident in Honor’s ability to compete. He said Honor had watched the Indonesian market for years, before redoubling its expansion efforts in the last half year.
While he declined to share a precise breakdown of Indonesian and Chinese staff, Li said Honor is still hiring in the country and aims to have predominantly local staff in the future.
Honor plans to open at least 10 of its own stores in Indonesia this year, in addition to selling through a local retailer, Li said.
Outside of China, Honor primarily sells in Europe and parts of Southeast Asia. Its phones are not sold directly in the U.S. The company said that in December, more than half of its sales came outside of 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 does not have any actions in honor or have involvement in business decisions.
