A man strolls past a signboard showing the recovery price of IPhone 6 in Mong Kok on Wednesday. Parker Zheng / China Daily

Apple fans on the mainland might not be able to buy the long-awaited iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus within this year because Apple had failed to reach an agreement over its license application with the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology.

The application, which was expected to be approved at the end of this month, was reportedly rejected by the authorities, and it is not known when Apple will make another application for a license.

Apple's iPhones will be made available in 10 countries - including Hong Kong - from Sept 19, but Apple has not yet stated when they will be available on the Chinese mainland, despite it being one of the US tech giant's largest markets.

Apple last week unveiled the two latest models in its iPhone series, both of which boast a larger screen, to try to recapture its role as a technological trend-setter. Hong Kong iPhone resellers say the iPhones could be resold on the mainland, where fans could pay up to 30,000 yuan ($4,888) for a new handset.

Stocks of the Chinese mainland telecommunications industry fell the most on the Hang Seng Composite Index after the news came out that iPhones will not be available for a while. China Mobile Ltd slid 3.8 percent when the market closed on Sept 16, posting its biggest drop since August 2012.

But the news seems to have only brought more caution to Hong Kong's grey market, while legal, is still unofficail or unauthoralized. In Sin Tat Plaza in Mong Kok, dealers say it is very hard to estimate the market price for the new Apple mobiles, as it is fluctuating all the time.

"But the price for the 128G version iPhone 6 Plus will definitely exceed HK$20,000," said the salesperson of Iron Ladies Workshop on the second floor of the building. She has already got more than 20 pre-orders for iPhone 6 Plus series from customers, each order requiring down payment of at least HK$15,000. "One customer from Shandong province ordered five at one time," she said.

The shop owner of Comeoin on the first floor said he had already got more than 100 orders for all the iPhone 6 mobile products. "You can order as many as you want. I have my own sources to get the phones," he said.

The actual payment will be dependent on the market price on Sept 19 when pre-ordered iPhone 6 can be picked up at local retail stores. That also means all customers who ordered from these electronic accessories dealers can get their new mobiles as soon as tomorrow.

The absence of the mainland in Apple's second round selling region just triggered another buying spree in Hong Kong two days ago, as the raging typhoon came in just right on time to make staying at home and clicking mouses for potential fortune so tempting. After Apple had opened up its online reservation system at 8:00 am, all iPhone 6 Plus has been booked up within three minutes, and iPhone 6 within eight.

Tips on how to get in the system faster than others and place your reservation successfully already circulated online for days, as lots of locals failed to snap up the new phones while they were sitting in offices and gearing for iPhone 6's initial online selling in Hong Kong. Apple announced that it got orders for over four million of its latest smartphones in the first 24 hours globally.

Apple's continuing delay on the mainland has left mainland telecommunication giants no solution but to postpone their own iPhone 6 contract plans. China Mobile Ltd started focusing on selling cheaper domestically-produced unsubsidized phones that work on 4G networks.

agnes@chinadailyhk.com

(HK Edition 09/18/2014 page8)