former Huawei subsidiary brand to honor has withdrawn its team from India, according to a report by the China-based Securities Times newspaper. The report is based on the statement that Zhao Ming, CEO of Honor, is said to have made during the branding smartphone Launch event last week. However, the company’s operations in India will continue and be managed by local partners, the report said. Zhao also reportedly said the team was asked to leave India for “obvious reasons” and that the brand will now take “a very safe approach”.
The Indian government gave major Chinese Technology brands like Vivo, Oppo and xiaomi Cause for concern with its recent raids. Vivo’s local offices were previously raided enforcement directorate (ED) as part of an investigation into alleged money laundering. Ed frozen 119 bank accounts linked to Vivo’s India business, which contained 4.65 billion rupees ($58.76 million), according to a report by Reuters. ED reportedly searched 48 locations of live and its 23 affiliated companies in a week, claiming that Vivo India’s sales proceeds were transferred out of India to make a case of forfeited revenue to avoid taxation.
A few days later, Oppo’s offices also received visits from government officials, and Vivo’s sister brand was accused of $550 million in customs evasion, according to a report by the South China Morning Post. Xiaomi also fell under government radar when $725 million was seized from the company over alleged illegal wire transfers.
India has also banned hundreds of Chinese apps on national security grounds, including some of the most important ones, including Bytedance-owned TikTok and the mobile version of Tencent’s PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds.