‘The Great China-China Tech War’ author Gordon Chang says TikTok misused user data and tried to manipulate American political views, which is why he thinks President Trump’s executive order banning the social media platform was well advised. He later spoke about CalPERS ‘investment chief Ben Meng dismissing allegations of conflict of interest.
Apple recently reported third-quarter earnings that saw a return to growth for the iPhone, however, smartphone shipments could drop as much as 30% if the tech giant is forced to remove WeChat from its App Store, according to one analyst .
Influential KGI Securities analyst Ming-Chi Kuo told investors worldwide shipments of the iPhone could drop by that amount if the executive orders signed by President Trump last week to ban popular apps TikTok and WeChat forced Apple to ban WeChat worldwide .
“Because WeChat has become a daily necessity in China, integrating features such as messaging, payment, e-commerce, social networking, news reading and productivity, if this is the case, we believe that Apple’s hardware product shipments in the Chinese market will decrease significantly, “Kuo wrote in the report, first reported by MacRumors. “We estimate that annual iPhone shipments will be revised down 25-30%, and annual shipments of other Apple hardware devices, including AirPods, iPad, Apple Watch and Mac, will be revised 15-25% . “
| Ticker | Security | Last | Change | Change% |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| AAPL | APPLE INC. | 444.45 | -11.16 | -2.45% |
APP CONFIRMS THE FOLLOWING IPHONE WANTS TO FREE
When Apple was forced to remove WeChat only from the US App Store, Kuo estimates a more fashionable decline in worldwide iPhone shipments, dropping them between 3% and 6%, with other Apple products less than 3%.
In its most recent quarterly results, Apple said revenue related to Greater China was $ 9.3 billion, up from $ 9.1 billion in the year-last quarter.
Tim Cook, chief executive officer of Apple Inc., speaks at a keynote at the 2019 DreamForce Conference in San Francisco, Califo., On Tuesday, November 19, 2019. (David Paul Morris / Bloomberg via Getty Images)
FOX Business has reached out to Apple with a request for comment.
Last week, Trump ordered an unwritten ban on ‘financial transactions’ with the companies TikTok and WeChat, ByteDance Ltd. respectively. and Tencent Holdings. Both executive orders, signed for each app, will be delivered within 45 days, FOX Business reported.
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“The United States must take aggressive action against the owner of WeChat to protect our national security,” read the executive order, announced Thursday night.
WeChat has more than 1.2 billion monthly active users worldwide.
On Wednesday, U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said, “We want to see untrusted Chinese apps removed from U.S. app stores. President Trump has announced announced actions on TikTok, and for good reason. ”
“With parent companies based in China, apps like Tiktok, WeChat and others are major threats to US citizens’ personal data, and not to mention tools for censoring CCP content,” Pompeo added.
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Following the executive order, China’s foreign ministry said it opposed the executive orders and would defend the rights of Chinese companies, according to ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin.
“The US uses national security as an excuse and uses state power to suppress non-US companies,” Wenbin told reporters, according to Reuters. “That is just a hegemonic practice. China is strongly opposed to it.”
Shares of Apple rose early Monday, gaining 0.7 percent to $ 447.65.
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Fox Business’ Caitlin McFall contributed to this story.
