JAKARTA: Indonesia approved local certificates for more than a dozen Apple products on Friday, the industry ministry said, moving the tech giant a step closer to having a ban lifted on iPhone sales in Southeast Asia’s biggest economy.

Apple struck a deal with Indonesia last month to invest in the country of 280 million after months of deadlock over the tech titan’s failure to meet regulations requiring phones to be built with at least 40 percent of components made locally. “We have issued local content requirement certificates for 20 Apple products,” Industry Ministry spokesperson Febri Hendri Antoni Arief said in a statement.

It did not specify the products that were certified, but local media reported they included the latest iPhone 16 model. Apple now needs to obtain a series of certificates and approvals from various ministries, the statement said.

Jakarta rejected a $100 million investment proposal from Apple in November, saying it lacked the “fairness” required by the government. Apple later agreed to invest $150 million in building two facilities—one in Bandung in West Java province to produce accessories, and another in Batam for AirTags. Industry Minister Agus Gumiwang Kartasasmita said last month that Apple had also committed to building a semiconductor research and development center in Indonesia, calling it a “first of its kind in Asia”.

Despite the ban on iPhone sales in Indonesia, the government had allowed the devices to be brought in if they were not being traded commercially.

Indonesia has also banned the sale of Google Pixel phones for failing to meet the 40 percent local parts requirement. — AFP