According to CommSec, a unit of Australia’s Commonwealth Bank, Malaysia is the world’s cheapest place to buy the Apple iPad. At the opposite side of the spectrum, it is most expensive to buy in Argentina where consumers pay more than double the cost.
In comparison, a 16GB iPad with Wi-Fi and Retina display sells for US$1,094.11 (approx. RM3373.14) in Argentina but just US$473.77 (approx. RM1,460.63) in Malaysia.
CommSec has been keeping an iPod index since 2007 as a way of monitoring whether currencies are valued appropriately. They have since added the iPad to the index. The index is a way of exploring the economic concept of purchasing power parity.
A quick check on the Malaysian Apple Online Store has the same baseline iPad going for RM1,499 which is close to the US$-RM conversion quoted by CommSec.
Malaysians, we should be so lucky?
Read the full article on the Wall Street Journal.
