HANOI, Vietnam (AP) — Apple CEO Tim Cook said Tuesday that he wants to further increase investment in Vietnam a day after the company announced it would spending on suppliers in the Southeast Asian manufacturing hub.
Vietnam has become more important to Apple as the company seeks to diversify its supply chains away from China, where most of its smartphones and tablets are assembled.
The company began looking at moving its production to countries like Vietnam, and more recently India, after shutdowns to fight COVID-19 in China repeatedly disrupted the company's shipments.
Cook made his comments while meeting with Vietnamese Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh, according to state media outlet Voice of Vietnam. Apple also said that it would increase its spending on suppliers, according to a press release on Monday.
“There is no place like Vietnam, a vibrant and beautiful country," said Cook, according to the press release, adding that the company's annual spending in the country had doubled since 2019.
No details were shared about the plan. Cook arrived in Hanoi on Monday for a two-day visit during which he met students, programmers and content creators.
Apple began operating in Vietnam over a decade ago, and says it is responsible for creating over 200,000 jobs there. Vietnam is also among the top five leading mobile game producers globally.
Apple has 26 suppliers with 28 factories in Vietnam, according to its 2022 list. Most of these located in northern provinces, where they can be easily connected to existing supply chains in southern China. Northern Vietnam has also historically been a hub for making electronics and has cheap, skilled labor.
Apple CEO Tim Cook speaks during a meeting with Vietnamese Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh in Hanoi, Vietnam on Tuesday, April 16, 2024. The tech giant CEO is on a visit to Vietnam to promote cooperation and boost investment in the Southeast Asian nation. (Duong Van Giang/VNA via AP)
Vietnamese Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh, left, speaks to Apple CEO Tim Cook, right, before their meeting in Hanoi, Vietnam on Tuesday, April 16, 2024. The tech giant CEO is on a visit to Vietnam to promote cooperation and boost investment in the Southeast Asian nation. (Duong Van Giang/VNA via AP)
Apple CEO Tim Cook, left, shakes hands with Vietnamese Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh in Hanoi, Vietnam on Tuesday, April 16, 2024. The tech giant CEO is on a visit to Vietnam to promote cooperation and boost investment in the Southeast Asian nation. (Duong Van Giang/VNA via AP)
PARIS (AP) — French media are reporting that actor Gérard Depardieu is in police custody for questioning about allegations made by two women that he sexually assaulted them on movie sets.
Broadcaster BFMTV and the daily Le Parisien reported that the 75-year-old actor was summoned Monday morning by Paris police and placed in custody.
The Paris police force said it wasn't authorized to comment and directed questions to the Paris prosecutor’s office. The prosecutor's office said it had no comment “at this stage."
“We have no information to communicate or confirm before having assessed any eventual charges and directions,” the office said in an email in response to questions from The Associated Press.
One of Depardieu’s lawyers, Christian Saint-Palais, was seen walking into a police station in the 14th district of Paris after lunching Monday at a nearby restaurant. He said he had no comment.
A lawyer for one of the alleged victims did not immediately respond to an emailed request for comment.
Depardieu has denied wrongdoing. In an open letter last October, he said: “I have never, ever abused a woman.”
BFMTV and Le Parisien reported that the police summons relates to accusations of sexual assault filed by two women who accuse him of groping during filming — one in 2014, the other in 2021.
The alleged 2014 assault was reported to police in January this year, Le Parisien reported.
The other alleged assault involved a 53-year-old movie decorator. She alleged that Depardieu grabbed her and kneaded her waist, stomach and breasts during filming for “Les Volets verts,” or “The Green Shutters,” according to the woman’s lawyer, Carine Durrieu Diebolt, when she filed the complaint to the Paris prosecutor’s office in February.
Depardieu has also been accused by more than a dozen other women of harassing, groping or sexually assaulting them. He was handed preliminary rape and sexual assault charges in 2020 following allegations from actor Charlotte Arnould.
Depardieu was long seen as a national icon in France. He has been a global ambassador for French film and enjoyed international fame with several roles in Hollywood.
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AP correspondent John Leicester in Le Pecq, France, contributed.
Police officers stand outside the police station where French actor Gerard Depardieu is expected to be questioned, Monday, April 29, 2024 in Paris. French media are reporting that police have summoned actor Gérard Depardieu for questioning about allegations made by two women that he sexually assaulted them on movie sets. (AP Photo/Michel Euler)
View of the police station where French actor Gerard Depardieu is expected to be questioned, Monday, April 29, 2024 in Paris. French media are reporting that police have summoned actor Gérard Depardieu for questioning about allegations made by two women that he sexually assaulted them on movie sets. (AP Photo/Michel Euler)
FILE - Actor Gerard Depardieu addresses the media during the press conference for the film 'Saint Amour' at the 2016 Berlinale Film Festival in Berlin, Germany, Friday, Feb. 19, 2016. French media are reporting that police have summoned actor Gérard Depardieu for questioning about allegations made by two women that he sexually assaulted them on movie sets. Broadcaster BFMTV and the daily Le Parisien both reported that the 75-year-old actor was called in for police questioning in Paris on Monday, April 29, 2024. (AP Photo/Axel Schmidt, File)
