Apple intends to expand its presence in Southeast Asia, and it is working “aggressively” to do it. According to the Chinese news outlet the Economic Daily News, the U.S. firm is working with Foxconn to further strengthen their partnership.
Big plans to capture Southeast Asia
It is expected that Apple will begin constructing two new research and development centers in 2017. One will be located in Indonesia, while the other will be in Shenzhen, China, as per Apple’s October announcement. Apple’s engineering team will be able to work “even more closely and collaboratively” with manufacturing partners because of the Shenzhen R&D center.
Reuters reported earlier this month that Apple was investing $44 million in an R&D center in India as well.
Foxconn currently has a presence in Indonesia and is working with Huawei and local vendor Luna as well in the country, notes 9to5Mac. Reports regarding Apple’s plans in Indonesia have surfaced in the past as well. The company plans to open up research and development centers in the country, according to a report last month. The report claimed the company would announce its plans in December and that construction and recruitment would begin in 2017.
Speculations suggest that Apple intends to get a license which will allow it to sell LTE products in Indonesia. Establishing a center is just quid pro quo for securing the license, notes 9to5Mac. Similar to India, Indonesia requires companies to have some sort of manufacturing or research facilities within its borders to get permission to establish a retail store there.
What help will Foxconn provide for Apple?
Apart from offering access to already-forged business arrangements with local suppliers and businesses, it’s unclear what assistance Foxconn will be able to give Apple for now. Nevertheless, a strong relationship with Foxconn will help Apple expand faster throughout the world.
A report earlier this month said that Foxconn could expand into the United States. This move will reportedly be worth $7 billion and generate 50,000 jobs. Such a move could also benefit the iPhone maker.
As of now, there has been no comment from Apple on the report from the Economic Daily News.
On Monday, Apple shares closed up 0.2% at $116.52. Year to date, the stock is up almost 11%, while in the last six months, it is up almost 25%. The stock has a 52-week high of $118.69 and a 52-week low of $89.47.
