Apple will ‘look at’ manufacturing in Indonesia: Tim Cook

Apple CEO Tim Cook said the company would “look into” manufacturing in Indonesia, following a meeting with the country’s President Joko Widodo, at a time when the iPhone giant continues to diversify its supply chain. sourcing outside China.

“We talked about the president’s desire to see manufacturing in the country and that’s something we will look at,” Cook told reporters after the meeting.

“I think the investment capacity in Indonesia is endless. I think there are many great places to invest. And we are investing. We believe in the country.”

Over the past three years, Apple has accelerated its efforts to diversify its manufacturing base beyond China after the Covid-19 pandemic exposed the Cupertino giant’s dependence on the world’s second-largest economy.

Covid disrupted operations and production at Apple’s main iPhone factory in China, operated by its assembly partner Foxconn.

Apple has since sought to expand its manufacturing base.

Vietnam has been a major beneficiary, becoming one of Apple’s largest manufacturing hubs outside of China. Products such as the MacBook, iPad and Apple Watch are manufactured there. Cook was in Vietnam earlier this week.

Apple has also ramped up production in India.

Apple now makes about 1 in 7 iPhones, or 14 percent, in India, double the amount produced there last year, according to a Bloomberg report.