Apple is to start making iPhones in India this
year, a local government official said yesterday, as the firm looks
to tap a booming middle class.
The US giant has not confirmed the move, but chief
executive Tim Cook said this week the company intended to "invest
significantly" in India.
Mr Priyank Kharge, Karnataka state's Minister for
Information Technology and Biotechnology, told AFP that
manufacturing is expected to start end April, and that the
operation is likely to assemble iPhones for the domestic
market.
Apple has only a 2 per cent share of the Indian market,
well behind rival Samsung's 23 per cent, according to research firm
Canalys.
But it had 48 per cent of the premium sector, in which
phones sell for above US$450 (S$636) last year.
Apple currently sells its phones in India through
third-party retailers. Analysts said if confirmed, the move would
be a coup for India's government, which has been trying to persuade
foreign companies to manufacture in the country. - AFP
TNP