Apple will finance Chinese online Apple iPhone purchases

Sales of the Apple iPhone in China have been held back by the lack of an agreement between Apple and China Mobile to produce a version of the device that would run on the carrier's proprietary 3G pipeline. After all, China is the world's largest cellphone market and China Mobile is the largest carrier on Earth. But Apple does have a plan to increase sales of the iPhone in China. By offering financing on online sales of the device, Apple hopes to get Chinese phone buyers to turn away from their current love, the Nokia Lumia 920.

According to the report, Apple will offer the Chinese interest rates between 0% and 8.5% depending on the plan chosen. Buyers can finance over 12, 18 or 24 months and must open a credit card account with China Merchants Bank Co. As we previously noted, this financing option is good only for online orders, which must range from $50 to $5,000.

Currently, the Apple iPhone is only the 6th most popular handset in China. Apple CEO Tim Cook recently met with China Mobile officials and both sides discussed subsidizing the Apple iPhone among other topics. It is possible that this financing offer was put in place due to China Mobile's desire not to pay for subsidized handsets. While China is now Apple's second largest market, Cook predicts that it soon will be number one.

source: CNETAsia via eWeek