Report: Apple On Track To Open First Retail Store In India, Company To Focus On iPhone Sales

According to India-based Live Mint, Apple Inc. (NASDAQ: AAPL) is one step closer toward opening retail stores in the country.

Live Mint reported that the Indian government plans to "push through" Apple's application to open outlets in the country after its original request was incorrectly submitted.

Live Mint, citing "a person with knowledge of the matter," added that Apple's stores will be classified as a seller of cutting-edge technology, which bypasses a local law which states that 30 percent of its product's inputs need to be manufactured locally.

Related Link: General Growth CEO Warns Apple Stores May Be Bogging Down Growth

Live Mint estimated Apple's share of the Indian-smartphone market to be around 2 percent.

"Most of the growth in India will come from new users coming into the Apple ecosystem, unlike in the West where growth is mainly from existing users upgrading," Tarun Pathak, a senior analyst at Counterpoint Technology Market Research, based near New Delhi told Live Mint. "You can expect the stores to focus mostly on iPhones."

Shares of Apple were trading lower by 1.39 percent at $92.71 ahead of Monday's opening bell.

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