Apple is extending its company-owned store network in Asia, preparing to open its first company-owned flagship in Malaysia. 

Bloomberg reports that the company has started hiring staff for its Malaysian retail business and has recently posted job advertisements on its website for store managers, technical specialists and support staff, business salespeople, and operations professionals.

These jobs will be for Apple’s own retail outlets rather Malaysia’s long-operating third-party reseller locations. The first Apple store will open in the capital city, Kuala Lumpur. 

Apple built its first retail store in New York City in 2001 and the company currently has more than 500 sites worldwide, the majority of which are in the US. In Southeast Asia, Apple also has its own stores in Thailand and Singapore.

The company has also advertised its job openings as it prepares to open two retail outlets in India in March or April. The stores will be located in Mumbai and New Delhi, and this is the idea that Apple has been working on since 2015, local sources said. 

The first Indian store will take up 22,000sqft in the Jio World Drive shopping mall at BKC in Mumbai.

Unicorn Infosolutions, an Apple India Premium reseller, announced last year that it wants to open 75 more outlets over the next three years. The company plans to create stores in the north and west of the country, and if Apple approves, it may also open outlets in the south and east.