Billionaire activist investor Carl Icahn said last night that he had sold his entire stake in tech giant Apple due to the risk of China’s influence on the stock.
Speaking to CNBC, Icahn said he was “still very cautious” on the US stock market.
Icahn took a stake in Apple almost three years ago, describing the investment as a “no brainer”.
At the end of 2015, Icahn held 45.8m shares in the tech giant. However, he said the economic slowdown in China had prompted him to offload his entire stake.
Icahn told CNBC: “We no longer have a position in Apple. Tim Cook did a great job. I called him this morning to tell him that and he was a little sorry, obviously. But I told him it’s a great company.
“In Apple today as opposed to six months or a year ago, in this one, there’s no need for activism because I think they have a great management. But you worry a little bit, maybe more than a little, about China’s attitude.
Dow plunges 1.2%, biggest percentage decline since Feb11 as Carl Icahn said he is worried about #China. pic.twitter.com/3JT51ohDVd
— Holger Zschaepitz (@Schuldensuehner) April 28, 2016
The Chinese government could “come in and make it very difficult for Apple to sell there … You can do pretty much what you want there.”
Over a week ago, China shut down Apple’s iTunes movies and iBooks stores in line with new regulations the country introduced in March to curb online publishing.
Shares in Apple tumbled in the wake of Icahn’s announcement and had a ripple effect contaminating Asian and European stocks.