Apple, China Mobile Have Yet to Reach iPhone Deal

[MacRumors]

Apple and China Mobile have not yet finalized a deal that will allow the world's largest carrier to sell the iPhone, reports Reuters. Earlier in December, a report from The Wall Street Journal suggested that negotiations were all but complete, with the two companies on track for a release sometime around December 18, the expected date for the carrier's 4G launch.

A China Mobile store promoting Apple products last week​

While China Mobile did launch its 4G network earlier today, bringing 4G speeds to its more than 700 million customers, there has been no sign of an iPhone deal.

Xi Guohua, the chairman of the world's largest mobile phone carrier, said on Wednesday morning that his company had no announcement to make on any deal to carry Apple's smartphones. Xi was speaking to reporters on the sidelines of a conference in Guangzhou, a southern city of China.

Multiple signs of an approaching deal between the two companies have popped up during the final months of 2013, with Apple receiving licensing needed to operate on China Mobile's TD-LTE standard in September and releasing the iPhone 5s and the iPhone 5c with TD-LTE support.

Though a deal has not been struck, it is clearly in the final stages as China Mobile has been accepting iPhone pre-orders and heavily promoting both the iPad and the iPhone in stores across China.

China Mobile is expected to bring millions of new customers to Apple, significantly increasing the company's presence in China. While Apple currently has deals with smaller carriers China Unicom and China Telecom, both carriers combined have fewer subscribers than China Mobile.

Apple's stock price is currently down nearly 1.8 percent following the lack of a deal announcement.

Article Link: Apple, China Mobile Have Yet to Reach iPhone Deal

 

[Alumeenium]

China already bought gray market iPhones or Androids, next …

 

[Aussi3]

Come on guys just sign the papers and get on with selling the phones!!!

 

[ghsDUDE]

AAPL is sucking today.

 

[charlituna]

So Wall Street is disappointed that a deal no one ever confirmed is in the works didn't happen

Yep sounds about right

 

[taptic]

10 years down the road, we'll see this same article posted again.... they're being so slow.

 

[ZMacintosh]

Lol...looks like they still have the iMac display protective film still attached

 

[testcard]

Lovin' those trainers.

 

[Red Oak]

I hope Apple is prepared to walk away. Apple's BATNA is focusing on driving growth at the China Unicom and China Telecom. This is the Japan scenario looking back a few years and it worked out very well

China does not have phone number portability. Apple should focus on affluent/emerging affluent young consumers and launch bigger form factors. Bring this group into the ecosystem. I think it will achieve 10% sustainable share over time just with these two carriers

Then, China Mobile will come around

 

[Small White Car]

So Wall Street is disappointed that a deal no one ever confirmed is in the works didn't happen

Yep sounds about right

Well, when the news of a deal was "announced" a few weeks back the price did go up about 10% over the last month.

So now a tiny bit of that evaporated today. (Less than 2%) And the stock is still 30% up from what it was in the summer.

In other words, I find your snakiness to be unwarranted in this case.

 

[giantfan1224]

AAPL is sucking today.

BUY opportunity.

 

[Will do good]

Doing business with China is usually not a great deal.

We give them our know how and technology and they give us cheat labor. I think we get the short end of the deal.

 

[ElTorro]

Where are all the "Why don't Apple just buy China?" comments?

 

[mac 2005]

A couple of editorial suggestions....

The headline suggests an editorial opinion. If you want to be objective, what do you think about "Apple, China Mobile Negotiations Continue for iPhone Deal"?

If any expectation of a deal was set, my understanding is that timeframe was set by a news organization -- not the parties involved.

Also, the Apple stock price dip may reflect a host of other issues besides the China Mobile deal. While there may be a correlation, there's no verifiable indication of causation. I'd recommend, "Apple's stock price is currently down nearly 1.8 percent."

 

[Klae17]

So Wall Street is disappointed that a deal no one ever confirmed is in the works didn't happen

Yep sounds about right

That shouldn't be surprising. Every stock a just a gamble.

 

[hkenneth]

Doing business with China is usually not a great deal.

We give them our know how and technology and they give us cheat labor. I think we get the short end of the deal.

Without the deal with China, those poor people in the US will be living in the hell, not be able to afford anything. Thank China so that 95% people in the US can afford our computers, cellphones, cloths, furniture, dishes, etc...

 

[goobot]

Im going to guess china mobile wants to having branding and their apps pre-installed on the phone. Apple should just partner up with all the smaller providers in China first. The lost business that China mobile would receive would force them to agree to apple's terms.

 

[darkslide29]

So Wall Street is disappointed that a deal no one ever confirmed is in the works didn't happen

Yep sounds about right

To be fair, the stock recently shot up (to just over $570) partly on the news that a China Mobile deal was so close, with a date of around today given. So this is just setting it back to how it was before. However, if the deal is imminent, why go back so far? It is confusing to me too. It makes some sense, but still not really logical.

 

[Rocketman]

All this means is all Apple sales are at full price.

China and India were on the top of the recently published list of most "capitalistic consumers or citizens" list. That means over 1% can afford it, and with 1.2B, that is 12m users minimum. What if it's 8%?

China Mobile has access to the "Discount Window". They can totally afford to finance 24 months of user uptake on subsidized phones and Apple knows it.

When the China Mobile deal is announced it will be done. Not one second before.

 

[Tiger8]

Doing business with China is usually not a great deal.

We give them our know how and technology and they give us cheat labor. I think we get the short end of the deal.

China called, they want you to pay back all the debt... oh wait, you can't

 

[TWSS37]

To be fair, the stock recently shot up (to just over $570) partly on the news that a China Mobile deal was so close, with a date of around today given. So this is just setting it back to how it was before. However, if the deal is imminent, why go back so far? It is confusing to me too. It makes some sense, but still not really logical.

So Wall Street got excited earlier this month over a deal that was never announced and stock went up 10%?

Yep sounds about right

 

[IJ Reilly]

A couple of editorial suggestions....

The headline suggests an editorial opinion. If you want to be objective, what do you think about "Apple, China Mobile Negotiations Continue for iPhone Deal"?

If any expectation of a deal was set, my understanding is that timeframe was set by a news organization -- not the parties involved.

Also, the Apple stock price dip may reflect a host of other issues besides the China Mobile deal. While there may be a correlation, there's no verifiable indication of causation. I'd recommend, "Apple's stock price is currently down nearly 1.8 percent."

You are right, if objectivity is the goal, but MR likes to spin the news, or at least they don't have any editorial policy to the contrary. Comments and suggestions about editorial policies are not taken seriously, at least not that I have ever noticed.

Theorizing about why a stock does what it does on any given day is a game all media outlets play. Nobody really knows most of the time, but it's an easy storyline.

 

[BornAgainApple]

ANALysts...always quick to jump to conclusions (usually the wrong ones), and the investors are quick to pull the trigger. The deal will get done, just not fast enough for some.

 

[IJ Reilly]

So Wall Street got excited earlier this month over a deal that was never announced and stock went up 10%?

Yep sounds about right

Actually, it does. Investors are interested in what will happen to earnings 3-6 months from today.

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ANALysts...always quick to jump to conclusions (usually the wrong ones), and the investors are quick to pull the trigger. The deal will get done, just not fast enough for some.

Traders, not investors. Don't make the mistake of confusing one for the other.

 

[TWSS37]

Actually, it does. Investors are interested in what will happen to earnings 3-6 months from today.

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Traders, not investors. Don't make the mistake of confusing one for the other.

Mine was just sarcasm. I'm well aware of some market fluctuations exist, such as the possibility of new market revenues.