APPLE'S chief executive officer (CEO) Tim Cook has said the US tech giant will strengthen its presence in India's "under-penetrated" market, amid improving 4G network infrastructure.
Earlier this week, Apple reported a rise in quarterly profit, which climbed 4.9 per cent to slightly more than $11 billion on revenue rising 4.6 per cent to $52.9 billion in the quarterly period that ended April 1.
The company is investing heavily in India, the third largest smartphone market in the world behind China and the US, Cook said, as he revealed that Apple set a new March quarter revenue record in the country, growing by double digits.
"We're very optimistic about our future in this remarkable country with its very large, young and tech savvy population, fast-growing economy and improving 4G network infrastructure," Cook said.
He visited India last year and met prime minister Narendra Modi; Apple’s senior vice president of worldwide marketing, Phil Schiller, visited last quarter to inaugurate a developer centre.
"And so there are a ton of things going on there (India). And we agree that we are underpenetrated there. Our growth rates are good, really good by most people's expectations, maybe not mine as much,” Cook said.
"So I'm very excited about it.”
Cook noted that the 4G network investment began rolling in in a significant way toward the last quarter of last year in India, which is the third largest smartphone market in the world today behind China and the US.
"But they are moving fast. They're moving at a speed that I have not seen in any other country in the world once they were started, and it is truly impressive,” he said.
“We believe that there is a huge opportunity for Apple there. And so that and the demographics of the country is why we're putting so much energy there," Cook added.
Yesterday (3), Apple announced it was creating a fund to get more people in the US to do "advanced manufacturing," kicking it off with a billion dollars.
"We are creating an advanced manufacturing fund," Cook said in an interview broadcast on CNBC.
"We are initially putting one billion dollars in the fund."
Apple has about 80,000 employees in the US and plans to hire thousands more "in the future," according to Cook.
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