Brazilian billionaire wants Apple manufacturing contract

Why can not Apple build their own assy. plants in China?

Eike is a opportunist, billionaires are like that. I'm from BraSil (yes we use S here) and I can see clearly that the Apple operation here are very sloppy.
The cause of that is that importation taxes are very high and importation processes here are very, very, very, corrupt. Even if you want to do all by the book in some point you gonna need to pay bribes to "untie" the importation.
Because of that Apple stay away from Brasil, no Apple Stores here. Actually the Rio de Janeiro mayor send a personal letter to Jobs asking for a Apple Store there for the Football World Cup a couple of year from now, Jobs reply "no way, the taxes and importation processes is prohibitive."
This Eike guy, literally owns ports, docs and figuratively, owns the costumes officials, so he is in very special position to import parts and "facilitate" the Apple operation.
So, the idea is not to export to USA or elsewhere, the idea is assembly here to fully explore the domestic sales.
I really don't think Apple, mostly Jobs, ever do business with these guy.
ps: sorry for the bad english writing.

He did not want to build a factory, he wants to build an assembly plant, he will import some products of Foxcom of China and will buy another part of Foxcom of São Paulo (Brazil) and will build Apple products, decreasing about 52% of prices of Apple products in Brazil, and it can export to all countries of Latin America + Portugal and Mexico without adding any other tax. I think it really is a good idea, and who knows Eike knows, he knows money. The facilities of the Port of Acu which will cost $ 1.6 billion, but it will have several large companies like GE, Hyundai, Samsung, LG, BMW ... etc.

I'm from Brazil and what is being reported here is that he wants to build ANOTHER assembly plant here and not replace Foxconn.

There's no way to compete with the cost of the chinese slave wages. It's just a way to cut the prices of apple products in Brazil (the world's most expensive).

For a guy who managed to make $27 billion, he's remarkably ignorant. Apple doesn't build factories! They outsource production to others.

On the other hand, he could have just tossed Apple's name in knowing sights like TUAW will give him a lot of publicity, even if the basic premise is nonsense.

I think it's good move to take some jobs from China and move them elsewhere, in fact, I agree Andre, seems like bringing to the US would be the best thing. It would help employment issues, build up another industry, and show Apple as an "American" company, not just a company with a base of operations in America. And yes, they certainly afford US wages.

Karim, do you think with that brain, or is it just on loan? And what does that have to do with this story?

Speaking of the story, wouldn't it make sense for Apple to diversify their supply chain? And while nobody seems to be hiring as many Americans as we'd like these days, there's a big building or two in North Carolina that argues for Apple's having at least SOME interest in doing so.

Yea I guess companies like Apple can only survive paying slave wages. But hey, the iPhone 4 was "Designed in California", so they are truly the red white and blue American company they make themselves appear to me.

What about America? That would be a surprise. Instead of just taking our money, they could give some of it back in the form of employment.

Good luck outbidding the Chinese...