Apple Says China App Store Has Generated $17 Billion For Developers (AAPL)
Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) is being criticized by many human rights groups for its constant bowing to pressure from China’s government to remove any and all apps from China’s App Store that regulators deem offensive or dangerous to their oppressive regime.
Today, we got a glimpse of exactly why Apple is so accommodative to China’s government: they’re raking in incredible riches from the Chinese App Store.
CEO Tim Cook said Monday that 1.8 million developers using its platform in China have earned a total 112 billion yuan — that’s $16.93 billion — and represents about 25% of the total global App Store earnings. Reuters has more details:
Cook shared the data on Sunday during a speech at China’s top public cyber policy forum, organized by the Cybersecurity Administration of China (CAC), which oversees internet regulation including censorship.Earlier this year, Apple said that developers had earned roughly $70 billion in total revenue through the store.Apple is facing criticism from local users and rights groups for bowing to pressure from Beijing cyber regulators after it decided to remove hundreds of apps from its Chinese store this year, including messaging apps and virtual private network (VPN) services, which help users subvert China’s Great Firewall.
The bottom line is, as long as China keeps cranking out this kind of massive revenue for Apple, the company has no reason not to bow to every one of the government’s demands there.
Apple Inc. shares rose $1.47 (+0.86%) in premarket trading Monday. Year-to-date, AAPL has gained 50.06%, versus a 20.00% rise in the benchmark S&P 500 index during the same period.
AAPL currently has a StockNews.com POWR Ratingof A (Strong Buy), and is ranked #1 of 28 stocks in the Technology – Hardware category.
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