印度政府證實蘋果有望在該國裝配生產iPhone

Apple is to start making iPhones in the southern Indian state of Karnataka, the state's government has said.

印度南部卡納塔克邦政府日前表示，蘋果公司打算在該城邦生產iPhone。

Ministers said Apple would start an initial manufacturing operation in the state, whose capital is the tech hub Bangalore, in April.

卡納塔克邦部長聲稱，蘋果公司將從今年4月份開始在該邦進行初始生產過程。卡納塔克邦的首府是印度科技重鎮班加羅爾。

Apple has yet to officially confirm the plan, saying only that it is keen to "invest significantly" in India.

蘋果公司方面尚未正式確認這一計劃，只是表示希望在印度“大舉投資”。

But Priyank Kharge, minister of information technology and biotechnology in Karnataka, told the AFP news agency: "We have an understanding with Apple and we expect them to start manufacturing in Karnataka by the end of April."

不過卡納塔克邦信息技術和生物技術部長Priyank Kharge向法新社透露：“我們對蘋果公司有了一定的瞭解，我們期待着他們四月底在卡納塔克邦開始生產。”

The tech giant has a 2% share of India's mobile phone market, well behind South Korean rival Samsung.

蘋果公司在印度的手機市場份額爲2%，要遠遠落後於韓國的三星公司。

Despite the low percentage of sales, Apple has almost half of the market for premium phones, which start at around $450 an item, and its sales are growing fast.

儘管在印度的手機銷售份額很低，但蘋果公司卻佔據了印度幾乎高端手機（手機價格450美元以上）一半的市場，其銷售增長也十分迅速。

Apple has held a series of meetings with government representatives at both state and national level and is understood to be pressing for concessions before going ahead with such a move.

蘋果公司已經和卡納塔克邦政府以及印度政府代表舉行了一系列會議，印度方面認爲蘋果是想要在做出最終決定前索要一些讓步。