Apple to open first store in Malaysia as Asia expansion continues

Apple plans to open its first store in Malaysia next month, the company said Wednesday, underscoring a bigger push into the Asia region beyond China.

The store will be located at The Exchange TRX mall in the Malaysian capital of Kuala Lumpur.

It will open on June 22 at 10 a.m. local time, Apple said.

The move to open a store in Malaysia continues a push by Apple to expand Asian sales outside of China, where Apple has struggled in of late amid rising competition from local players, in particular Huawei.

Last year, Apple opened its first stores in India, a key manufacturing hub for the iPhone, and a market that the Cupertino giant hopes will be a big sales driver in the future.

Apple does not produce iPhones in Malaysia, but it manufactures some Mac models locally.

Apple already has stores in other Asian locations, including in Singapore and Thailand.

In most of Southeast Asia, Apple is battling against Chinese firms like Xiaomi and Oppo, as well as its biggest rival Samsung.