Wednesday, April 17, 2024

Apple CEO says that he wants to increase investments in Vietnam

IMPERIALISM; 
THE HIGHEST FORM OF CAPPLETALI$M



Vietnamese Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh, left, speaks to Apple CEO Tim Cook, right, before their meeting in Hanoi, Vietnam on Tuesday, April 16, 2024. The tech giant CEO is on a visit to Vietnam to promote cooperation and boost investment in the Southeast Asian nation.
 (Duong Van Giang/VNA via AP)


ANIRUDDHA GHOSAL
Tue, Apr 16, 2024,

HANOI, Vietnam (AP) — Apple CEO Tim Cook said Tuesday that he wants to further increase investment in Vietnam a day after the company announced it would spending on suppliers in the Southeast Asian manufacturing hub.

Vietnam has become more important to Apple as the company seeks to diversify its supply chains away from China, where most of its smartphones and tablets are assembled.


The company began looking at moving its production to countries like Vietnam, and more recently India, after shutdowns to fight COVID-19 in China repeatedly disrupted the company's shipments.

Cook made his comments while meeting with Vietnamese Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh, according to state media outlet Voice of Vietnam. Apple also said that it would increase its spending on suppliers, according to a press release on Monday.

“There is no place like Vietnam, a vibrant and beautiful country," said Cook, according to the press release, adding that the company's annual spending in the country had doubled since 2019.

No details were shared about the plan. Cook arrived in Hanoi on Monday for a two-day visit during which he met students, programmers and content creators.

Apple began operating in Vietnam over a decade ago, and says it is responsible for creating over 200,000 jobs there. Vietnam is also among the top five leading mobile game producers globally.

Apple has 26 suppliers with 28 factories in Vietnam, according to its 2022 list. Most of these located in northern provinces, where they can be easily connected to existing supply chains in southern China. Northern Vietnam has also historically been a hub for making electronics and has cheap, skilled labor.


Apple CEO says company will 'look at' manufacturing in Indonesia

Apple CEO Tim Cook gestures upon the arrival for a meeting with Indonesian President Joko Widodo at palace in Jakarta, Indonesia, Wednesday, April 17, 2024.

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Apple CEO Tim Cook arrives for a meeting with Indonesian President Joko Widodo at the palace in Jakarta, Indonesia, Wednesday, April 17, 2024.(AP Photo/Achmad Ibrahim)
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Apple CEO Tim Cook ,center, talks to journalist during a joint press conference with Indonesian Minister of Industry Agus Gumiwang Kartasasmita, left, and Indonesian Minister of Communication and Information Technology Budi Arie Setiadi, right, after a meeting with Indonesian President Joko Widodo at the palace in Jakarta, Indonesia, Wednesday, April 17, 2024.(AP Photo/Achmad Ibrahim)
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Apple CEO Tim Cook walks after a meeting with Indonesian President Joko Widodo at the palace in Jakarta, Indonesia, Wednesday, April 17, 2024.(AP Photo/Achmad Ibrahim)
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Apple CEO Tim Cook, center, walks with Indonesia’s Minister of industry Agus Gumiwang Kartasasmita, right, and Minister of Communication and Information Technology Budi Arie Setiadi, left, after a meeting with President Joko Widodo at the palace in Jakarta, Indonesia, Wednesday, April 17, 2024.(AP Photo/Achmad Ibrahim)
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Apple CEO Tim Cook, right, walks with Indonesia's Minister of Communication and Information Technology Budi Arie Setiadi, left, after a meeting with President Joko Widodo at the palace in Jakarta, Indonesia, Wednesday, April 17, 2024.
(AP Photo/Achmad Ibrahim)



EDNA TARIGAN and ACHMAD IBRAHIM
Updated Wed, Apr 17, 2024


JAKARTA, Indonesia (AP) — Apple CEO Tim Cook said the company will “look at” manufacturing in Indonesia as he met with Indonesian President Joko Widodo on Wednesday.

“We talked about the president’s desire to see manufacturing in the country, and it’s something that we will look at,” Cook told reporters after the meeting.

Widodo’s administration has worked for years to bring manufacturing to the country to power economic development, while Apple is seeking to diversify its supply chains away from China, where most of its smartphones and tablets are assembled.


The company began moving some production to countries like Vietnam, and more recently India, after shutdowns to fight COVID-19 in China repeatedly disrupted the company’s shipments.

“I think the investment ability in Indonesia is endless. I think that, there is a lot of great places to invest, and we’re investing. We believe in the country,” Cook said.

The previous day, Cook met Vietnamese Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh in Hanoi, where he said Apple plans to invest more in Vietnam and increase spending on suppliers in the Southeast Asian manufacturing hub.

“Given the slowing Chinese economy as well as the Chinese government’s ongoing efforts to squeeze out foreign companies and replace them with domestic brands, Apple wants alternatives for manufacturing,” said Chris Miller, an associate professor at Tufts University whose work focuses on technology and geopolitics.

“It has already invested more in India and Vietnam, but it is likely looking at other partners in South East Asia to additional manufacturing and assembly operations,” Miller said.

Cook's visit to Indonesia came after Apple announced its fourth Apple Developer Academy in the country, to be located in Bali. The company first launched the program to train app developers in Indonesia in 2018, in the capital Jakarta.

Apple has no manufacturing facilities in Indonesia, but the company says it has invested 1.6 trillion rupiah ($99 million) in its app developer ecosystem in the country.

Widodo's government has sought to leverage the country's reserves of nickel and other raw materials to bring in manufacturing, banning export of raw commodities such as nickel and bauxite to oblige companies to build refineries domestically.

After the meeting with Widodo, Cook also met Indonesia’s president-elect Prabowo Subianto, who is currently defense minister, in Jakarta. He's set to take power in October.

Indonesia’s minister of communication and information, Budi Arie Setiadi, said Wednesday that Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella would visit Indonesia at the end of April. ___

Associated Press writers Victoria Milko in Jakarta and Zen Soo in Hong Kong contributed to this report.

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