REPUBLIKA.CO.ID, JAKARTA - Government is expected to tighten its grip on mobile phones imports as the volume continues to increase since 2010. Director of Public Trust Institute, Hilmi Rahman Ibrahim said that the imported mobile phones had reached 53.4 million units worth 1.829 billion USD compared to 40.5 million units worth 1.526 billion USD in 2010.

"It is impossible to ban the import as it can hamper our effort to attract investors to build mobile phones factory in this country," Ibrahim said on Friday.

China became the main importer country in Indonesia with 37 million units or 85 percent of total imports in 2013. It was dominated by low-end products with prices below 1 million IDR (80.7 percent), 1-2.5 million IDR (12.9 percent), 2.5-5 million IDR (3.7 percent) or more than 5 million IDR (2.6 percent).

Despite various brands, mobile phones market in Indonesia is still dominated by Chinese imports at cheap price. It means, developed countries producing mobile phones shifted its production to other countries by considering the ease of investment, efficiency and business continuity in long term.

"This opportunity must influence government to tighten import rules for mobile phones. It aims to attract more investors in Indonesian market," Ibrahim added.

There are also many illegal imported mobile phones in Indonesia. The number is much larger than the legal products. According to Ibrahim, government must control it by applying the registration requirements for International Mobile Equipment Identity (IMEI). It can eliminate the illegal import of mobile phones. 

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