According to a report, Apple CEO Tim Cook is scheduled to visit India next week to open the company’s first stores in the country. The trip is seen as underscoring Apple’s ambitions for India as a growth market and manufacturing base. Cook is expected to preside over the opening of twin outlets in Mumbai and New Delhi. The visit comes seven years after Cook’s first visit to India in 2016 and coincides with India sales of iPhones reaching an all-time high and annual iPhone exports from the country reaching billions of dollars. Apple is betting on India to diversify its assembly operations beyond China amid strained Beijing-Washington relations. In between the inauguration of the two Apple stores, the company has sought a meeting between CEO Tim Cook and Prime Minister Narendra Modi. The Indian government, led by Modi, has been promoting electronics manufacturing in the country and has offered incentives worth billions of dollars to attract companies like Apple’s manufacturing partners, Foxconn Technology Group and Pegatron Corp.
During the latest earnings call, Apple CEO Tim Cook emphasized the importance of India as both a market and a production base for the company. He mentioned that Apple had set a quarterly revenue record in India and had strong double-digit growth in the country. This indicates that Apple sees India as a key market for its products and is committed to expanding its presence there.
