On allegations that iPhone use is forbidden among Chinese government personnel, Apple shares have fallen for the second straight day.
The company’s stock market value has decreased by more than 6%, or about $200 billion (£160 billion), over the last two days. With 18% of total sales last year, China is the third-largest market for the technological giant.
Additionally, it is where Foxconn, Apple’s top supplier, produces the vast majority of its products. According to a Wednesday Wall Street Journal article, Beijing has ordered critical government agency employees to refrain from using or bringing iPhones to work.
The following day, Bloomberg News reported that employees at state-owned businesses and organizations may also be subject to the ban. The allegations surfaced ahead of the iPhone 15’s anticipated September 12 launch. The Chinese government has not responded to the allegations with an official statement.
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Apple’s Towering Market Cap
With a valuation of nearly $2.8 trillion, Apple has the largest stock market capitalization in the entire globe. The BBC contacted the company for comment, but they did not respond right away. Stocks of some of Apple’s suppliers have also decreased.
The price of Qualcomm, the biggest maker of smartphone processors in the world, dropped by about 7% on Thursday.
In South Korea, shares of SK Hynix decreased by almost 4% on Friday. The allegations come at a time when tensions between the US and China are still very high.
China’s access to some semiconductor technology was restricted this year by the United States, along with its allies Japan and the Netherlands. In response, China prohibited the export of two materials relevant to semiconductors.
A new $40 billion investment fund is reportedly being planned by Beijing to support the semiconductor manufacturing sector. China’s Huawei unveiled the Mate 60 Pro smartphone covertly last week during US Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo’s trip to Beijing.
According to TechInsights, a Canadian company that does technology analysis, Huawei recently received a new 5G Kirin 9000s processor from China’s top contract chipmaker, SMIC.
It “demonstrates the technical progress China’s semiconductor industry has been able to make,” claims TechInsights analyst Dan Hutcheson.
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Source: BBC
