Pictured is the Grand Indonesia Mall in Jakarta on 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 banned Apple’s iPhone 16 above the requirements of domestic production.
Indonesia requires that for smartphones sold in the country, 40% of their components must be of domestic origin. That rule prevented Apple from selling its latest phone in the market, where it supposedly is is negotiating a billion-dollar investment.
Honor has an office in Indonesia and is working with one local manufacturing partner, Justin Li, the company’s Chinese president for South Pacific operations, told reporters last week. He said the foldable phone will be among Honor’s first batch of locally sold products — 10 items in the mid-to-high end segment.
The company aims to offer about 30 products from phones to tablets in Indonesia by the end of the year. The Southeast Asian country is home to the world the fourth most populous countryjust behind the United States.
“Although 80% of the market is dominated by devices priced below $200, as Southeast Asia’s largest and fastest growing economy, Indonesia represents huge potential for long-term growth,” 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 can 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. Shenzhen-based Oppo held its own in November the global launch of its flagship phone, the Find X8 in Indonesia, where the company also has a factory.
Samsung ranked fourth in Indonesia with a 16% share, tied with Vivo, another Chinese brand, according to Canalys data.
Excluding China and Japan, slightly less than 8% of Apple’s sales they come from Asia and the Pacific.
Li claimed that the decision to enter Indonesia was independent of Apple’s presence in the country and he was confident in Honor’s ability to compete. He said Honor had been eyeing the Indonesian market for years, before redoubled its expansion efforts in the past six months.
While he declined to share the current breakdown of Indonesian and Chinese staff, Li said Honor is still hiring in the country and aims to have a 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 US. The company claimed that for the first time in December, more than half of its sales came from outside China.
What an honor plans to go publicwas spun off from Chinese telecom giant Huawei in November 2020 after the parent company was hit by US sanctions. Huawei said it doesn’t hold them shares in Honor or participate in business decisions.
