苹果拟在印度境内组装iPhone

Apple is inching towards its goal of opening stores in India after securing regional government approvals that could give it traction in the world’s fastest-growing smartphone market — where it has only a 2 per cent share of sales.

苹果(Apple)正在慢慢走向其在印度开店的目标。此前，苹果获得了印度地方政府的批准，这可能会令它在全球增长最快的智能手机市场获得增长势头——苹果目前在印度的市场份额只有2%。

Permissions to start iPhone assembly in India would see Apple bolster the government’s high-profile campaign to secure manufacturing investment, at a time when the US company has been lobbying in vain for permission to open retail stores in the country.

允许iPhone开始在印度装配，会展示苹果支持印度政府争取制造业投资的高调努力。目前，这家美国公司一直在徒劳地开展游说，试图获得在印度开设门店的许可。

The US-based company on Thursday received approval from the government of Karnataka to have phones assembled in the south Indian state, although it remains locked in talks with New Delhi over the deal.

周四，这家总部驻美国的企业收到了来自卡纳塔克邦政府的批文，准许它在这个印度南部的邦装配手机，尽管苹果与新德里方面依然在围绕该协议开展磋商。

If it receives final clearance, the phones would be assembled at a factory in Bangalore, Karnataka’s capital city, which is home to much of India’s technology industry, according to a statement from the local information technology ministry.

根据当地信息技术部的一份声明，一旦苹果获得最终的许可，其手机会在卡纳塔克邦首府班加罗尔的一家工厂装配。印度高科技产业有很大一部分落户班加罗尔。

Local media reports suggested the factory would be run by Wistron, a Taiwanese manufacturer that assembles Apple products in China.

当地媒体报道暗示，该厂将由纬创(Wistron)运营。纬创是一家在中国装配苹果产品的台资制造商。

“Apple’s intentions to manufacture in [Bangalore] will foster cutting edge technology ecosystem and supply chain development in the state, which are critical for India to compete globally,” said Priyank Kharge, Karnataka’s IT minister.

卡纳塔克邦信息技术部长Priyank Kharge表示：“苹果在(班加罗尔)制造的意图将在我邦培育领先的高科技生态系统和供应链发展格局，这对印度开展全球竞争至关重要。”

New Delhi has been eager for Apple to begin assembly operations in India, which would buttress a drive by the government, known as “Make in India”, to encourage foreign investment in the country’s manufacturing sector.

印度政府一直急切地想让苹果在印度启动装配业务，此举将促进印度政府发起的名为“印度制造”(Made in India)的努力，目的是鼓励外资投入印度制造业。

But, in protracted talks with the government, Apple has maintained that it can do so only if offered concessions allowing it to avoid import duty on components, and an exemption on rules requiring it to source one-third of its parts from Indian suppliers. These rules have hamstrung Apple’s hopes of opening a branded retail store in India, leaving it largely dependent on online sales.

但在与印度政府的漫长谈判中，苹果坚持只有在获得多方面让步后才会这么做。这些让步包括让苹果免交零部件的进口关税，以及不受向印度供应商采购三分之一部件的规定约束。这些规定令苹果在印度开设品牌专营店的希望渺茫，从而让它主要依赖在线销售。

Operations are expected to begin in May or June if a deal can be struck with the central government over tax and trade conditions. Details of the scale of the operations remain unclear, with critics arguing that the assembly of iPhones from imported kits would not promote Indian manufacturing.

一旦与印度中央政府就税收和贸易条件达成协议，预计装配业务会在5月或6月启动。有关装配业务规模的细节目前仍不清楚，批评者声称，用进口配件组装iPhone并不会提振印度制造业。

Apple has been targeting India as growth in smartphone sales in China and developed markets slows, but it has come up against the country’s stringent restrictions on foreign investment by retailers.

在中国市场和发达市场的智能手机销量增长放缓之际，苹果将增长希望寄托于印度市场。不过，苹果在印度遭遇了该国对外国零售商投资的严格限制。