Chinese internet giant Alibaba Group has put on hold plans to invest in Indian startups amid geo-political tensions between the two countries, Reuters reported Wednesday, citing two unnamed sources.
The Chinese group, which has invested more than $2 billion in Indian startups since 2015, plans to freeze new investments in Indian startups for at least six months, the report said.
Alibaba Group, and its affiliate Ant, are major investors in a handful of unicorns in India including Paytm, the most valued Indian startup in which it owns about 30% stake, food delivery startup Zomato, grocery delivery startup BigBasket, and e-commerce firm Snapdeal.
The decision comes amid geo-political tensions between the two neighboring nations, which escalated when more than 20 Indian soldiers were killed in a military clash in the Himalayas in June. Ever since, “Boycott China” — and variations of it — has been trending on Twitter in India as a growing number of people posted videos demonstrating destruction of Chinese-made smartphones, TVs and other products.
New Delhi blocked TikTok and 58 other Chinese apps in the country in late June and extended the ban to several dozen more apps weeks later. India, the world’s second largest internet market, also amended its foreign direct investment policy earlier this year to make it difficult for Chinese investors to write new checks to Indian firms.
More to follow…
