India Prime Minister Narendra Modi is trying to lure Apple to set up a manufacturing facility in his country, The Times of India reports.
Vikas Swarup, a spokesman for India’s ministry of external affairs, told reporters that Apple CEO Tim Cook responded positively to the request, noting that Foxconn, one of Apple’s largest manufacturing partners, has decided to set up a manufacturing base in India.
Cook stopped short of saying Apple would be moving manufacturing to India, but discussed bring Apple Pay to the country, expressed a desire to be a partner in the prime minister’s Digital India initiative, and hinted at an expanded role for India in the company’s future, saying, “We are fortunate to have many passionate customers along with a fast-growing developer community, and we’re investing to expand our operations throughout the country.” If opening Apple retail stores in India is part of that expansion, Apple will have an even greater incentive to move at least some of its manufacturing to the country, since 9to5Mac reports India’s trading laws prohibit manufacturer-owner retail stores unless a certain percentage of the products sold there are made within the country.
