Apple and Asian suppliers sink on China iPhone restrictions

📌 According to media reports, Beijing instructed central government employees to refrain from using iPhones for official purposes, and state-owned businesses and government agencies were also considering taking a similar action.

📌 The limitations suggest that Apple’s iPhone sales, which are the main source of the company’s income, may be slowing down. In terms of revenue, according to Apple’s second-quarter statistics, China is also the third-largest contributor. The Company is also supposed to launch its new range of iPhone 15 later this month.

📌 The news of the ban caused Apple’s shares to drop by almost 6% over the last two sessions, erasing about $200 billion from the market capitalization of the iPhone manufacturer. Moreover, it also affected some of its suppliers, such as SK Hynix, which supplies memory chips, that lost 4% and Samsung Electronics, which supplies chips and displays, that gave up 1%.

📌 Beijing’s limits on the iPhone coincide with deteriorating ties with the United States and may be punitive for recent limitations on technology exports to China. Current calls for a blanket ban on electronics exports to China came from several U.S. politicians, who cited two companies—Huawei and Semiconductor Manufacturing International Corp.—for violating current trade rules.

Source: Investing