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The
official's comment came after Kontan business daily quoted
Indonesian Chamber of Commerce and Industry Chairman Suryo
Bambang Sulisto as saying the Apple Inc supplier had canceled
its investment plans due to unspecified land issues.
I Gusti Putu Suryawirawan, director general of metals,
machinery, transport equipment and electronic industries, denied
the report but made no further comment on the situation when
asked by reporters on Tuesday.
Sulisto did not respond to phone calls requesting comment.
Foxconn declined comment beyond saying: "As we have stated on a
number of occasions, Foxconn would consider investments in
Indonesia or other markets only if they made commercial sense".
"We will continue to look at investment opportunities in
Indonesia as we do in a number of other markets, and would
provide updates only if the company has anything to announce
regarding its investment plans."
Foxconn, whose flagship listed unit is Hon Hai Precision
Industry Co Ltd, said last year it may invest $1 billion in
southeast Asia's biggest economy.
The group, which assembles products for global phone makers, is
likely to be affected by a law due to take effect in 2017
requiring companies which sell smartphones in Indonesia to
produce some of their content locally.
Indonesian officials had initially said companies must source 40
percent of their content locally, but on its website the
communications ministry said the figure was now 30 percent. It
was unclear why the percentage had changed.
Critics say the rule, part of a push by President Joko Widodo to
transform Indonesia from an economy that consumes products into
one that produces them, could increase costs and restrict access
to technology.
A Foxconn spokesman said last year the company planned to invest
in making hardware such as phones, tablets and televisions in
Indonesia, as well as in telecom services.
The company had hoped to tap the domestic market of about 250
million people and use it as a base to export to the rest of
southeast Asia. But talks with authorities had stalled, partly
because the government was reluctant to accept Foxconn's request
for free land, sources said.
Last month, Foxconn partnered with China's Xiaomi [XTC.UL] to
assemble phones in India.
(Additional reporting by Michael Gold in Taipei; Editing by
Miral Fahmy and David Holmes)
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