Apple Gets Into The Indonesian Market

Apple Inc.'s AAPL global expansion continued Friday after the company pledged to invest $44 million in Indonesia over the next three years. In return, the company has been granted the rights to sell its iPhone 7 in the country.

Indonesia's national laws dictate that sellers of a 4G handset must have a local presence in the country in terms of hardware, software or an investment commitment.

The Indonesian government appears to be consistent in its laws, which was applied to Netflix, Inc. NFLX when the streaming video platform entered the country as part of its global expansion that was announced in early 2016.

According to a Reuters report, Indonesia is a "promising" smartphone market where Apple has fallen behind the competition. The country boasts a young and internet-savvy demographic group that also happens to be heavy users of social media.

Samsung leads the smartphone battle in Indonesia with a market share of around 26 percent, followed by China's OPPO with a 19 percent market share.

9to5Mac noted it's likely that other emerging markets will implement similar laws in which foreign smartphone makers need to commit to the local economy as a pre-condition for selling their devices.