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Apple's long march to world domination suffered a temporary setback yesterday as China Mobile, the country's largest phone operator, pulled out of talks aimed at launching the iPhone for its subscribers.
The two sides had failed to agree on the sort of revenue-sharing deal that Apple's chief executive, Steve Jobs, has tied up in the US and Britain, where the phone-cum-music player has been on sale since last year.
The news is a blow to investors in both firms. Apple's shares had surged 10 per cent on a single day in November when news of the talks leaked. China Mobile shares fell 3 per cent in Hong Kong trading yesterday.
A China Mobile spokeswoman said the company had not ruled out reviving discussions at some stage.
Financial considerations appeared to be at the heart of the disagreement. Duncan Clark, chairman of BDA China, said: "China Mobile doesn't want to share its non-voice revenue."
- Independent
