Apple is now worth more than Russia’s stock market, new data have revealed. The US technology giant’s market capitalisation has overtaken the combined value of all Russian public companies for the first time in history, Bloomberg reported.
Apple, the world’s most valuable company, has added $147bn to its market cap this year and was worth $652bn as of November 12. The shares closed up 1.2pc to $114.18 each on Friday.
Russian equities have fallen $234bn to $531bn in the same period, Bloomberg data stated.
Apple, led by Tim Cook, has being going from strength to strength in recent months, culminating in the release of the company’s latest smartphones in September – the iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 plus.
Mr Cook said last month that demand for the new iPhone was “off the charts”, as he revealed revenues rose 12pc to $42.1bn and profits climbed 13pc to $8.47bn in the fourth quarter.
Apple will release its first smartwatch early next year, while a television has been widely rumoured.
Mr Cook revealed earlier this year that his company is also working on products that “haven’t been rumoured about yet”.
Meanwhile, Russia has been struggling to cope with a falling rouble and tough Western sanctions as a result of its conflict in eastern Ukraine.
The country’s central bank slashed its growth forecast for next year to zero and warned of near-recession conditions until late in the decade. It said capital outflows would reach $128bn this year.
“Apple works with shareholders to maximize returns and is based where property is protected by law,” Vadim Bit-Avragim, a portfolio manager at Kapital Asset Management in Moscow, told Bloomberg.
“In Russia, the legislative protection for property is not as good, most state-run companies have poor corporate governance, resources are concentrated in state hands and borrowing costs are shooting up. After all this, when you get involved in conflicts with your neighbours, it becomes very hard to persuade investors from all over the world to invest here.”
source: the telegraph
