Vivo says acts in line with India laws, codes

Chinese smartphone vendor Vivo said on Wednesday that its branch in India is cooperating with local authorities to provide them with all required information, and the company is committed to full compliance with Indian laws.

The comments came after Indian media reported that authorities there conducted searches at over 40 locations across India in connection with an alleged money-laundering case linked to Vivo and other Chinese firms.

Vivo said in a statement to China Daily that "As a responsible corporate, we are committed to be fully compliant with laws in India".

Chinese brands currently account for four of the top five smartphone vendors in India by shipments. At the end of the first quarter, Vivo had a 15 percent market share in the country, according to market research company Counterpoint. That puts Vivo in fourth place, behind Xiaomi, Samsung and Realme.

The Vivo investigation came after Indian tax authorities conducted searches at multiple premises of Chinese companies including Huawei Technologies Co, Xiaomi and Oppo as part of tax investigations earlier this year.

After seizing $726 million from Xiaomi in April, India began the process of inspecting accounting records of more than 500 Chinese companies, including ZTE Corp, Vivo, Xiaomi and Huawei, Bloomberg reported in May.

Such frequent investigations targeting Chinese companies are affecting Chinese investors' confidence in the Indian market, said Ding Jihua, deputy director of the Beijing New Century Academy on Transnational Corporations, an institute that focuses on the study of multinational enterprises.

Foreign investors, including Chinese companies, are increasingly concerned about the investment climate in India, Ding said.

Chinese automaker Great Wall Motors also told China Daily on Wednesday that it has given up a deal to purchase a plant of US automaker GM in the state of Maharashtra, India, because it failed to obtain regulatory approval.

The two companies struck the deal in January 2020 as the United States' No 1 automaker by sales was leaving the Indian market. Great Wall Motors was expected to pay around $300 million for the plant as part of a broader plan to invest $1 billion to establish a presence in India.

"We and GM had been in communication with local regulators over the past two years about the deal. Unfortunately, we did not obtain approval from local authorities and regulators until the deal's expiration," said Great Wall Motors in a statement.

The agreement, which was extended twice, expired on June 30. Great Wall Motors said it will keep its attention on the Indian market and look for new opportunities, adding that operations at its research and development facility in Bangalore are normal.

Gao Feng, a Commerce Ministry spokesman, said in February that the Indian authorities concerned have taken a series of measures to suppress Chinese companies and their products in India, which seriously damages the legitimate rights and interests of Chinese companies.

"China expressed serious concern about this," Gao said, urging India to improve its business environment and treat all foreign investors, including Chinese companies, in a fair, transparent and nondiscriminatory manner.