Apple will begin assembling iPhones in India by the end of April, heightening its focus on the world’s fastest-growing major smartphone market. The Cupertino, California-based company has tapped Taiwan’s Wistron Corp.) to put together the smartphones in the tech capital of Bangalore in Karnataka, said Priyank Kharge, the state’s IT minister.
“Apple’s iPhones will be made in Bangalore and all devices will be targeted at the domestic market,” said Kharge, IT minister for Karnataka, of which Bangalore is the capital. Kharge said the state will help Apple if it decides to turn to other contract manufacturers in the region. “We did not discuss any other incentives,” he said.
Apple CEO Tim Cook announced on an earnings call this week that India is “the place to be.”
Getting a foothold in India has been a challenge for Apple. The company has opened its retail stores in a number of countries around the world, but not in India. The country has restrictive real estate investment laws for foreign companies.
What’s more, India’s Finance and Commerce Ministries rejected Apple’s request to sell used iPhones in the country. “We are not in favour of any company selling used phones in the company, however certified they may be,” commerce and industry minister Nirmala Sitharaman said.
