The banned Chinese apps, which include TikTok, Shareit and UC Browser, earn revenue mainly from online advertisements, subscriptions, and commissions for selling products. India is the biggest driver of these Chinese apps due to the population. The ban on the 59 Chinese apps will negatively affect the valuations of the companies, especially those going for IPO.
After India banned 59 Chinese apps last month, at least three more China-based video apps - Snack Video, Likee Lite, and Zili - have now made it to the list of top 10 downloaded apps in India on Google Playstore.
Bringing a local or non-Chinese partner onboard opens up the possibility of legal recourse to have the ban diluted or revoked. However, the process of going through a review committee and setting up local servers might take at least 3-6 months.
According to experts, this will have major impact on new investments by Chinese players in companies, such as Paytm, Ola, BigBasket, Byju's, Dream11, MakeMyTrip, and Swiggy, when they go for follow-up funding. Chinese investors, such as Alibaba, Tencent, and Xiaomi, are active in the Indian start-up space, and have collectively invested billions of dollars.
According to experts, the banning of the apps has created negative sentiments and reduced the confidence among the Chinese investors to invest in India.