On Thursday, Apple stokes fell sharply for a second straight session after reports of influential Chinese restrictions on iPhones at government offices and state-backed entities.
The stock of the world’s giant publicly-traded firm was down 2.8 percent at $177.79 in late morning trading.
Shares plunged 3.6 percent on Wednesday after a Wall Street Journal report that China banned the usage of Apple iPhones in central government agencies.
That was followed on Thursday by a Bloomberg News story that Beijing intended to extend the ban to government agencies and state firms, widening the impact of the guideline in a centrally-planned economy.
However, Apple and Chinese officials have not responded to requests for comment from AFP.
The action comes amid heightening tensions between China and the US.
The Bloomberg report said a release last week of a Huawei smartphone operating a made-in-China processor was praised in Chinese state media as a “triumph” in the path of Washington sanctions.
Apple said $15.8 billion in revenues from Beijing in the most current quarter, nearly 20 percent of total earnings. Executives indicated the uptick in China sales in a period when overall sales declined.
The Apple situation has implications for other tech companies, Patrick O’Hare, Briefing.com analyst said.
The concern for the market is that, if China intentionally decides to create business challenging for a firm like Apple, which has a good and significant working connection in China, then it can do so for a lot of further US firms doing business in China, O’Hare said.
