The Indonesian Government is upset that Research in Motion(RIM) has chosen Malaysia for its Blackberry manufacturing plant.
“Why did they choose to build in Malaysia?” said Gita Wirjawan, the chairman of the Investment Coordinating Board (BKPM), suggesting Indonesia’s large market should have been a factor.
Gita said the market for BlackBerrys in Malaysia — less than 400,000 units sold annually — was small compared to the Indonesian market — estimated at 4 million units a year.
The statement is supported by Indonesia’s Industry Minister M.S. Hidayat, who said the government should penalize producers with a large market share in Indonesia who import their products.
“I suggest we impose an additional value-added tax, or luxury tax, for such goods, so that people would choose to invest here instead,” Hidayat said.
The latest move by RIM was probably prompt by Indonesia’s strict requirements and recent policy changes.
Last year, RIM was forced by the Indonesian Government to set up office and at least 40 service centers in the country. The Government also demanded that the Blackberry device maker to build a data center locally to deal with pornographic content and allow access to RIM’s encrypted network.
There has been no reports at the time of writing that the Indonesian Government had financially supported the RIM data center and the 40 new service centers.
The Blackberry manufacturing plant in Penang, Malaysia started operation in July 2011. The plant is supported by the Malaysian Investment Development Authority (MIDA).
[Source]- JakartaGlobe
