China bans iPhone use by government employees, Apple stocks in freefall

Beijing has reportedly ordered government employees across China to not use or bring iPhones to work according to reports by The Wall Street Journal. The ban extends across state-owned companies and government-backed agencies.

The news comes as Apple gets ready to launch its latest iPhone model – the iPhone 15. The launch has been scheduled for September 12.

China is Apple’s third-largest market and accounted for 18 per cent of its total revenue in 2022 at $349bn. It is also home to Apple’s manufacturing units.

In June, Greater China was Apple’s fastest-growing region as sales increased 8 per cent on an annual basis to $15.76bn reported CNBC. On the company’s earnings call, CEO Tim Cook said Apple was seeing users switch from Android phones to iPhones, mentioning that was “at the heart” of its results.

Apple stocks fall over iPhone ban

The news has impacted Apple’s market valuation with its stocks falling by more than 6 per cent over the last two days. The tech giant has seen more than $200bn wiped off since news broke off the ban in China. Apple is the world’s most valued company with a market cap of $2.8tn.

Additionally, the valuation of Apple’s suppliers too have been hit with Qualcomm, the smartphone chip maker seeing its stocks drop by more than 7 per cent. Shares in SK Hynix dropped by more than 4 per cent during Thursday’s trade.