Apple Plans to Invest More Than $250 Mln to Expand Singapore Campus

People shop at an Apple reseller store iBox at a mall in Jakarta on April 17, 2024. (Photo by Adek BERRY / AFP)
People shop at an Apple reseller store iBox at a mall in Jakarta on April 17, 2024. (Photo by Adek BERRY / AFP)
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Apple Plans to Invest More Than $250 Mln to Expand Singapore Campus

People shop at an Apple reseller store iBox at a mall in Jakarta on April 17, 2024. (Photo by Adek BERRY / AFP)
People shop at an Apple reseller store iBox at a mall in Jakarta on April 17, 2024. (Photo by Adek BERRY / AFP)

Apple Inc plans to invest more than $250 million to expand its regional campus or operations in Ang Mo Kio, Singapore, according to a company statement dated April 17.
Two buildings acquired in 2022, located across from Apple's existing offices, will undergo a major upgrade, the US technology giant said.
"Singapore is truly a one-of-a-kind place, and we are proud of the connection we've built with this dynamic community of creators, learners, and dreamers," Tim Cook, Apple's CEO, said in a statement.
Apple opened its first facility in Singapore in 1981 with 72 employees focused on Apple II, its early personal computer.
It has since grown to house more than 3,600 employees in the city-state, which serves as an operations center for Apple in the region.
Cook will meet Singapore's prime minister-designate Lawrence Wong as well as the city-state's incumbent leader Lee Hsien Loong this week as part of his Southeast Asia tour, Bloomberg News reported earlier on Wednesday, citing a person familiar with the matter.



Apple’s China Market Share Shrinks as Huawei Surges, Data Shows 

A woman walks past a logo of Apple Inc in Wuhan, Hubei province July 24, 2013. (Reuters)
A woman walks past a logo of Apple Inc in Wuhan, Hubei province July 24, 2013. (Reuters)
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Apple’s China Market Share Shrinks as Huawei Surges, Data Shows 

A woman walks past a logo of Apple Inc in Wuhan, Hubei province July 24, 2013. (Reuters)
A woman walks past a logo of Apple Inc in Wuhan, Hubei province July 24, 2013. (Reuters)

Apple's market share in China shrank by two percentage points in the second quarter of 2024, as the tech giant faced intensifying competition from rivals like Huawei, according to data from market research firm Canalys.

The decline underscores the difficulties the US tech giant faces in its third-largest market.

Huawei's smartphone shipments surged 41% year-on-year in the quarter, bolstered by the launch of its new Pura 70 series in April.

The Canalys data, while not providing specific shipment figures for Apple, showed that the company's market share in China dropped to 14% in the second quarter of 2024, a decrease from 16% in the same quarter of 2023.

As a result of this decline, Apple's ranking in the Chinese smartphone market fell from third to sixth place.

Overall, China's smartphone shipments rose by 10% in the quarter, Canalys said. Vivo was the top vendor with a share of 19%, followed by Oppo, Honor and Huawei with 16%, 15% and 15% respectively.

"Domestic manufacturers have demonstrated market leadership, occupying the top five positions in the mainland Chinese market for the first time in history," said Lucas Zhong, research analyst at Canalys.

"On the other hand, Apple faces growth pressure in the Chinese market and is actively focusing on optimizing channel management."

Huawei made a comeback to the high-end smartphone segment last August with the release of a device powered by a domestically-made chip, defying US sanctions that have cut off its access to the global chipset supply chain.

In an effort to boost sales, Apple has ramped up its discounting efforts this year to entice consumers. The US company launched an aggressive campaign in May, doubling the scale of an earlier promotion in February and offering price cuts of up to 2,300 yuan ($318.84) on select iPhone models.

Analysts expect Huawei's strong performance to continue throughout the year. Canadian research firm TechInsights projected earlier this year that Huawei's overall smartphone shipments in China will exceed 50 million units in 2024, with the Pura 70 series accounting for 10 million of those shipments.

That would make Huawei the No. 1 seller with a 19% market share, up from 12% in 2023, TechInsights has said.