Apple has signed the lease with Prestige Estates at its Minsk Square building and will pay a rental of Rs 170(US$2.32) per sqft, which works out annually to Rs 82 crore. Apple and Prestige did not respond to requests for comment.

The deal has coincided with the iPhone-maker launching its online retail store in the country, which it did last month. The company, which is already making smartphones in India, has also announced it will open its first physical store in Mumbai next month.

The new office space will host a large technology centre. The space would normally accommodate about 4,000 employees, but the numbers may be less as companies look to ‘de-densify’ their work spaces due to the pandemic. Apple advertised vacancies for 18 jobs last month on its website, out of which seven are in Bengaluru and the rest across Hyderabad, Chennai and Gurgaon.

Apple has an existing lease of 50,000 sqft in the northern part of the city with RMZ, but sources said the company may give up on that and consolidate its operations in the CBD zone. https://telecom.economictimes.indiatimes.com