Billionaire investor Carl Icahn has sold his stake in Apple, citing concerns about prospects in China

A BILLIONAIRE investor has sold his entire stake in Apple, citing concerns about the giant tech company’s prospects in China.

BILLIONAIRE investor Carl Icahn has sold his stake in Apple, citing concerns about the giant tech company’s prospects in China.

Apple’s stock fell nine per cent this week after it reported a sizeable drop in iPhone sales.

Icahn, a longtime investor, toldCNBC he still thinks Apple is a doing great work, but he has worries about its plans to expand in China.

“We no longer have a position in Apple. Tim Cook did a great job. I called him this morning to tell him that, I told him it’s a great company. He seemed sort of sad to hear that,” he said.

“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 about China’s attitude.”

Billionaire activist investor Carl Icahn has concerns over China.

He later added that China’s government could “come in and make it very difficult for Apple to sell there ... you can do pretty much what you want there.”

Icahn last year called it a “no-brainer” to invest in Apple, predicting the company could be worth $A1.31 trillion.

At that point, he owned 53 million shares, valued then at $A8.5 billion, nearly one per cent of the company.

The stock has fallen 20 per cent since then, but Icahn said he still made $A2.6 billion from selling his shares.