Bulletin de veille : technologie

Indonesia’s technology black market here to stay

Research in Motion’s (RIM) PlayBook tablet is due to launch in Indonesia in August
PlayBooks have been available on the country’s thriving technology black market for weeks
Vicky, a vendor at Mall Ambassador in Jakarta, a bustling hub for all things electronic, had stocks of the PlayBook in April, even ahead of the product’s global launch in New York.
the black market costs the government millions of dollars in unpaid consumption taxes
telecommunications generate so much money in other ways
On top of evading the 10 percent luxury tax, suppliers and vendors can also ignore the five percent sales tax by trading solely in cash, making for significantly cheaper products.
But product developers like RIM can still turn a profit no matter how their goods arrived in Indonesia. They earn the same amount per unit regardless of where they were released.
to RIM, Indonesia is an important business opportunity. BlackBerry
Regardless of price sensitivities and regardless of socio-economic environment, we firmly believe Indonesia will be one of the top markets for tablet opportunity across (Southeast Asia),
It’s not simply because of the sheer population, but certainly because Indonesians love technology. They gravitate to technology; that’s evident in the way they’re gravitating to the BlackBerry.

46 per cent of Indonesia’s smartphone market, compared to 13 per cent in North America
the average salary is around $3,000 a year and much of the population can’t afford the smartphones, which start at a little under $200 and $8 per month for service
tackling that issue by starting to offer financing
emerging markets, particularly in Asia, are becoming more important markets not just for RIM, but all mobile phone vendors

RIM targets Indonesi
The company is seeking to avoid the BlackBerry’s slump from spreading outside North America

RIM plans to have about 4,000 outlets including flagship stores, store-in-stores and kiosks across Indonesia within the next year
Indonesia “is the proving ground” for an expansion across Southeast Asia
At an event at Jakarta’s Pacific Place shopping mall on Nov. 25, when RIM made the global debut of its BlackBerry Bold 9790, rioting broke out among customers hoping to be among those to get a discounted price for the smartphone
The company opened a new 149-square meter store in Jakarta’s Gandaria shopping district last week

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