Apple shares fell after news about China banning officials in central government agencies from using or bringing iPhones and other foreign-branded devices to the workplace.
Chinese officials had received instructions in recent weeks from their bosses in chat groups or workplace meetings, adding that it was not clear how widespread the orders were.
The report had a severe impact on Wall Street stock indices, as Apple shares fell by 3.6%, causing the company to lose more than $106 billion in market value within one day.
China is one of Apple’s largest markets and generates nearly a fifth of its revenue.
Many analysts said that the reported move shows that Beijing is not willing to spare any American company as it seeks to reduce its dependence on American technologies.
The Chinese ban may raise concerns among foreign companies operating in China as Sino-American tensions escalate, and comes ahead of an Apple event next week that analysts believe will be about the launch of a new line of iPhones.
China’s latest restriction mirrors a similar ban taken in the United States against Chinese smartphone company Huawei Technologies and short-video platform TikTok, owned by Chinese company ByteDance.
For more than a decade, China has been seeking to reduce dependence on foreign technologies, requiring state enterprises such as banks to switch to domestic software and promoting domestic semiconductor chip manufacturing.
Analysts said that Huawei recently launched a 5G smartphone that uses a fairly advanced silicon chip, which was thought to be beyond its capabilities due to US-led export restrictions.
The analysis TechInsights company stated that the Mate 60 processor is the first processor to use the most advanced 7nm technology from “SMIC”, and indicates that the Chinese government is making some progress in its attempts to build a local chip ecosystem.
Tensions between China and the United States have risen as Washington works with its allies to block China’s access to critical equipment needed to keep the chip industry competitive, and Beijing restricts shipments from prominent US companies including giant planes maker Boeing and chip company Micron Technology.
In turn, CFRA research analyst, Angelo Zino, believes that there is not expected to be an immediate impact on Apple’s profits, given the popularity of the iPhone in China.
During a visit to China last week, US Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo said US companies had complained to her that China had become uninvestable, citing fines, raids and other measures that made it risky to do business in the world’s second-largest economy.
