India may grant Apple retail presence, tax breaks in exchange for building iPhones locally...
Apple has asked the Indian government for a number of exemptions following the start of production of iPhones within the country, and officials signaled on Thursday that they are weighing the requests.
Apple wants the ability to build its own retail stores in India, but current laws require the company to source at least 30 percent of its products in India. Apple began assembling iPhone SE units in the country in May to appease the government, though initial production has been small.
On Thursday, Ramesh Abhishek, of India's Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion, said his country is considering the exemptions sought by Apple, according to Reuters. Retail locations are of particular interest to the company, which currently relies on a network of resellers in India.
Beyond stores, Apple also seeks "a range of tax and policy changes" that would help the company continue to expand local assembly of iPhones.
In August, the company indicated that it needs the government to extend tax breaks to suppliers if the country wants them to begin production within its borders. The company also reduced pricing on its products in July in response to sales tax reforms enacted by the local government.
Following a retail expansion and sales explosion in China, India has become an area of particular interest for Apple and its chief executive, Tim Cook.
To bolster those efforts, Apple opened an App Accelerator in India in March, designed to help locals learn to code for iOS, macOS, watchOS and tvOS. The accelerator hosts labs and presentations on elements like interface design, working with frameworks, and coding in Swift.
Apple wants the ability to build its own retail stores in India, but current laws require the company to source at least 30 percent of its products in India. Apple began assembling iPhone SE units in the country in May to appease the government, though initial production has been small.
On Thursday, Ramesh Abhishek, of India's Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion, said his country is considering the exemptions sought by Apple, according to Reuters. Retail locations are of particular interest to the company, which currently relies on a network of resellers in India.
Beyond stores, Apple also seeks "a range of tax and policy changes" that would help the company continue to expand local assembly of iPhones.
In August, the company indicated that it needs the government to extend tax breaks to suppliers if the country wants them to begin production within its borders. The company also reduced pricing on its products in July in response to sales tax reforms enacted by the local government.
Following a retail expansion and sales explosion in China, India has become an area of particular interest for Apple and its chief executive, Tim Cook.
To bolster those efforts, Apple opened an App Accelerator in India in March, designed to help locals learn to code for iOS, macOS, watchOS and tvOS. The accelerator hosts labs and presentations on elements like interface design, working with frameworks, and coding in Swift.
Comments
And, given all the naysaying, I don't think the potential has been fully priced in yet.
Do you know what the iPhone market share percentage is in India? Something like a paltry 2% and falling. That's how much the India consumer is interested in iPhones. Google is laughing hard and Tim Cook seems oblivious to the fact. Apple has a near-zero chance of gaining market share in India or anywhere else. Android dominates the entire global smartphone market and Apple refuses to do anything about it. Game over.
Agreed. I also remember that you clearly pointed out how DXO Mark works (about their consulting services) and many seemed to ignore that part of the reality.
Let's hope you don't come back a year from now with "SeewhatItoldyou? $200ishere! Ineversoldmystock timecookisthegreatest Applerules blah blah blah....". But somehow, I expect you'll do exactly that.
It's a guess, alright.
Educated? Well...
Active Google Android devices as announced this past spring (by Google) = 2B
Active iOS devices as announced last year by Apple = 1B. Estimated active IOS devices currently =~ 1.2B.
Apple ASP per device ~3x that of Android devices.
Yep, game over...
https://daringfireball.net/linked/2017/09/22/dxo-ratings-are-horseshit
For such a vocal supposed stockholder, we have yet to see a screenshot of his portfolio. I doubt he has any shares of anything.
The price difference of about 33% is because of the import tax levied by the Government on foreign products. Apple has nothing to do with it. If Apple sold the phones cheaper in India, customers in other countries would be pissed off.