India sees Apple nearly tripling investment, exports in coming years (updated)

Wistron

20/04/2023 06:43

(Adds details, Delhi store opening)
    By Krishna N. Das and Tanvi Mehta
       NEW DELHI, April 20 (Reuters) - U.S. tech giant Apple
could double or triple investments in India along with exports
in the next few years, a minister said, as the company opened a
second store in the big mobile phone market.
    Apple mainly assembles iPhones in India through contract
manufacturers, but has plans to expand into iPads and AirPods.
    "I am very confident that this Apple-India partnership has a
lot of headroom for investments, growth, exports and jobs -
doubling and tripling over coming years," Rajeev Chandrasekhar,
the deputy information technology minister, told Reuters.
    His comments came after a meeting on Wednesday with Apple
Chief Executive Tim Cook in the capital, New Delhi.
    Cook, who also met Prime Minister Narendra Modi, said Apple
was "committed to growing and investing across the country".
    He inaugurated an Apple store in New Delhi on Thursday two
days after opening its first outlet in Mumbai, India's
commercial capital.
    "We've come here only to see Tim Cook," said Manika Mehta,
32, an Android phone user who queued at the Delhi store in a
gesture of support for her husband, an Apple fan.
    About 500 people had gathered for Cook's brief appearance,
in which he spoke with fans and took selfies, as in Mumbai.
    Cook's visit has drawn extensive media coverage and he has
been feted like a Bollywood star, with some people trying to
touch his feet in a traditional gesture of respect, while others
asked for his autograph.
    Apple has been trying to make India a bigger manufacturing
base to reduce its reliance on China. Its products, including
iPhones, are being assembled in India by Taiwanese contract
electronics makers Foxconn  2317.TW  and Wistron Corp  3231.TW .
        
  

 (Reporting By Krishna N. Das; Editing by Jacqueline Wong and
Clarence Fernandez)
 ((krishna.das@thomsonreuters.com;))