Apple production in India can cause “geopolitical risks”: Ming-Chi Kuo, Apple analyst

Setting up new Apple production firms in India can potentially increase geopolitical risks, states Ming-Chi Kuo, a market analyst at KGI Securities and a well-known reporter of Apple-related news. 

Ming-Chi Kuo, considered a reliable source of analysis and predictions concerning Apple, says that Apple moving production from China to India would be a risky move for the global tech company. 

In a recent tweet, Kuo claimed that the upcoming Apple products, AirPods Pro 2, will be mass produced in Vietnam. He added that this will be a successful move for Apple because of "Vietnam's better production environment (such as infrastructure and workforce) vs. most countries outside China". 

In replies to the same tweet, Kuo further added that such success cannot be replicated elsewhere in the world, especially India, because of aforementioned pros associated with Vietnam.

"For Chinese companies, Luxshare ICT and Goertek, who are AirPods series assemblers, setting up facilities in Vietnam instead of India can also reduce potential geopolitical risks," says Kuo.

Apple firms in India

While Kuo doesn't believe it is a good idea to set up new Apple production firms in India, Apple already has existing manufacturing plants set in India. 

According to a report by Reuters, Apple had announced last month that the iPhone13 will begin manufacturing at a local plant in Sriperumbudur, Tamil Nadu. 

Batches of the iPhone SE were also assembled in India back in 2017, and were the first iPhone phones officially produced in India, claims another report.

Why Apple wants to move from China

A recent report by Wall Street Journal states that Apple has been looking to move production from China for quite some time, likely due to frequent disagreements between the US and the Chinese government. 

Beijing's strict anti-Covid policy and refraining to oppose Russia's invasion of Ukraine are also some factors that are reportedly forcing Apple to look for new production firms in other parts of Asia, with India and Vietnam being names brought up, states the report. 

However, if Kuo's recent predictions come true, then Apple would likely be looking to build new supply firms in Vietnam instead of India. 

In an earlier report, Kuo said that AirPods 2 Pro will most likely keep the Lightning connector port instead of adopting the rumoured USB Type-C port. 

Apple has yet to confirm any of the recent details shared by Kuo.