SAN FRANCISCO (Diya TV) — Apple will begin manufacturing the company’s signature iPhone in the southern Indian state of Karnataka, the state’s government has said.
Ministers said Apple would begin planting roots to open a initial manufacturing operation in the state, which is home to India’s thriving technology hub. Officials expect the facility to open sometime in April.
Apple has just two percent marketshare of India’s mobile phone market, which trails far behind South Korean rival Samsung. The company has yet to officially confirm the plan, telling BBC that the company is focused on a “significant investment” in India. Reports said the plant is being set up by Taiwanese manufacturing company Wistron Corp.
Despite the company’s low sales figures, Apple has maintained nearly half the world’s market of premium mobile phones, which carry a minimum price of $450. Apple has held a series of meetings with government representatives at both state and national level and is understood to be pressing for concessions before going ahead with such a move.
Apple’s biggest manufacturing partner is Taiwanese giant Foxconn, which runs the biggest iPhone factory in the world in China.
The company is currently prohibited from installing its signature retail stores in India, a nation that has a slew of rules that dictate the activities of foreign companies. In order to sell directly to Indians, Apple would be required to source at least 30 percent of the materials used in manufacturing phones and other products locally.
