BEIJING, September 7 (TMTPost)— Apple shares fell about 2.9% on Thursday, following a tumble of 3.6% a previous day, their biggest daily drop since August. The shares tumbled more than 6% from Wednesday to Thursday, their worst two-day performance since November.

Credit：Visual China

 The Cupertino, California-based company lost about $190 billion in market capitalization after reports about China’s curbs increased concerns on iPhone sales in the world’s largest smartphone market.  

China asked officials at central government agencies not to use Apple and other foreign-branded devices at work, even bringing them into offices are not to be allowed, the Wall Street Journal reported, citing people with knowledge of the matter on Wednesday. The order was made in forms of instructions in workplace chat groups or meetings, the report said.  While it was unclear that how widely such order was being distributed, staff at some central government regulators received similar messages, according to the report.

Bloomberg reported a day later that China plans to expand the restrictions of iPhone use at work in sensitive departments to state-backed agencies and state-owned companies. Beijing intends to extend the ban far more broadly to a plethora of state-owned enterprises and other government-controlled organizations, the report quoted sources familiar with matter.

China’s State Council Information Office, the National Civil Service Administration and Apple didn’t comment on these reports yet, though the reported ban immediately shocked the financial market. Apple and its suppliers, especially chipmakers, suffered shares plummet recently.  

Apple shares had an unusual two-day drop as the company is facing a double whammy: on the one hand, it was reported to be banned on some occasions, on the other hand, its iPhone 15 series that are set to launched next week will have to compete with an arch rival—Huawei’s best-selling new flagship Mate 60 Pro, digital Chinese news media outlet China Fund commented.

Huawei surprisingly launched a presale for Mate 60 Pro priced at RMB6,999 (US$960) on August 29 even though it has not officially released the model. The low-profile presale turned out such a success that the first batch of the phone sold out within hours, igniting fervor for Huawei’s 5G comeback in China. While the company didn’t provide details about technical specifications or whether the phone supports the 5G network, Chinese media outlets including Huxiu said online tests proved Mate 60 Pro can deliver the internet speed of 5G. Multiple reports attributed Mate 60’s 5G connectivity to Huawei Kirin 9000s chipset, which was deemed as evidence that Huawei managed to defy years of U.S. sanctions.

The Wall Street predicted upbeat sales of Mate 60 and cautioned performance of the upcoming iPhone 15. Bank of America analyst Wamsi Mohan expected Mate 60 could pose an opportunity for Huawei to regain market share if it's able to supply and scale the homegrown Kirin 9000S chip. Mohan estimated that for every 1 million iPhones sold, Apple sees a roughly 1 cent per share impact, and if Huawei were to gain back the 10 million units it lost to Apple in China, that could impact earnings by roughly 11 cents per share in fiscal 2024.  

The shipment plan of Mate 60 Pro has increased by about 20% to 5.5 million to 6 million units as the demand for the device has been strong since inception, said Ming Chi Kuo, an analyst at TF International Securities who was well known as the most accurate Apple analyst in the world. The shipment showed demand for the new Mate 60 is significant stronger compared with legacy models. The cumulative shipments of Mate 40 Pro reached approximately 6 million units 12 months after release in October 2020, while Mate 60 Pro shipments reached 5.5–6 million units in just 4 months after launch, Kuo noted. Based on this market trend, Kuo forecasted at least a total of 12 million Mate 60 Pro mobiles would be shipped 12 months after launch.