The competent authority under the Foreign Exchange Management Act (FEMA) has approved an order of seizure of over Rs 5,551 crore worth of deposits of Chinese mobile phone manufacturer Xiaomi -- the highest amount frozen till date in India -- the ED said Friday. The agency charged the popular Chinese phone maker with remitting foreign currency equivalent to Rs 5,551.27 crore to three entities -- one Xiaomi Group company and two US-based unrelated entities -- in the guise of royalty. The Enforcement Directorate (ED) had first issued the order of seizure of these bank deposits on April 29 under the FEMA and later sent it for approval of the competent authority, as required under the law that regulates foreign exchange violations in the country.
The strategy of selling the phone will remain the same.
Xiaomi will start pre-loading Microsoft Office and Skype on its phones starting September 2016, initially in China, with other markets including India to follow.
In the past two years, Xiaomi has expanded its chain of offline stores across formats - 6,000 Mi Preferred Partner stores and 75 Mi Homes on a franchise-based model, besides exclusive small-format Mi Stores added last year to penetrate Tier-II, -III and -IV cities and towns.
The Chinese smartphone maker's focus on offline retail has helped it overtake Samsung in top 50 cities in India.
Apart from bringing new suppliers on board, Xiaomi is also hoping to take advantage of the newly launched PLI scheme that offers incentives on incremental production of smartphones with 2020 as the base year.
As Chinese gadget-maker Xiaomi, the world's third largest smartphone seller after Apple and Samsung, turns five today, it will seek to intensify its India push. But there are miles to go before it can claim true success in India, as a harrowing experience of one of its smartphone users suggests.
Xiaomi proposes to increase its content and software tie-ups
On Sept 15 Google launched the first of its Android One phones in India aimed at making smartphones more affordable for the masses.
The company currently controls over 30 per cent of the online smartphone market in the country, but says that isn't enough.
A Taiwanese cyber security expert has claimed to have compromised server of China based smartphone maker Xiaomi but the company called it a hoax.
Chinese handset maker Xiaomi overtook Samsung to become the top player in the Indian smartphone market in the December quarter, ending the Korean company's 6-year dominance, reports by Canalys and Counterpoint Research said.
With versatile imaging and unmatched gaming experience, the Redmi Note 8 Pro has the makings of an all-round smartphone, says Khalid Anzar.
Finally Mi TV arrives on the Indian shores for the first time as Mi TV 4.
Xiaomi is the third largest smartphone brand in the top 30 cities in India.
Chinese giant Xiaomi is going for the premium segment with a view to grabbing market share in the Rs 20,000 to Rs 50,000 smart phone market as well as having offerings up to Rs 70,000 where players like One Plus, Samsung, Vivo and Apple are key players. "Two years ago, the Rs 20,000 plus smart phone market which is considered premium in India was very small. "Out of every 100 phones sold, only 10 were above this price mark. "However, in the last two years, it suddenly grew and we thought it was big enough for us to focus on now," said Manu Kumar Jain, managing director, Xiaomi India.
Though the screen resolution has been whittled down from the N1, the display is still well balanced and sharp with good viewing angles.
Following the footsteps of Motorola, Chinese handset maker Xiaomi is also teaming up with e-Commerce major Flipkart to launch its handsets in India.
It is ramping up capacity in the second facility in Andhra Pradesh, run by Foxconn
Handset maker Xiaomi will set up a research and development unit in Bangalore, its first such facility outside of China, as it looks to beef up presence in the booming Indian smartphone market.
Chinese smartphone maker Xiaomi Inc has tied up with Taiwan's Foxconn to start assembling phones in India.
The biggest attractions of the phone are the Sunlight Display and virtual IVR.
Ratan Tata has acquired a stake in Chinese handset maker Xiaomi, the first investment by any Indian in the smartphone maker.
The handset delivers on build quality, battery, design, ergonomics and a pretty decent display. The camera performance is not exactly ground breaking, but the price tag covers up for that slight blip, says Himanshu Juneja
A successor to Mi 4, the 'i' in 4i reflects Xiaomi's focus on India even as the Chinese company is losing ground to Apple on home turf.
Ashish Narsale brings you the first look.
The online strategy cuts down on marketing and distribution costs, allowing Xiaomi to sell feature-rich phones at low prices.
Lei Jun, founder and CEO of Xiaomi, in an internal letter on Wednesday, announced that the company has sold one million smartphones in the first 18 days of this month in India, state-run China Daily reported.
The reasonably-priced Mi Band 3 has a lot to offer to fitness enthusiasts, says Khalid Anzar.
With minimal advertising and superb viral trends the company has created a buzz like no other and Redmi 1s is definitely worth the wait.
The company is also looking to invest in Indian start-ups.
China's Xiaomi unveiled on Tuesday its new flagship Mi 4 smartphone, aimed squarely at the premium handset market dominated by Apple Inc and Samsung Electronics Co Ltd.
It seems like Xiaomi has achieved what it had set out to with the Mi Pad: Providing a cost-effective iPad, at least, in terms of look and feel, says Himanshu Juneja
They belong to different budget segments but when it comes to features and looks these seven stand out in the crowd.
The Mi A2 launches in India today. Ashish Narsale reviews Xiaomi's latest offering for you.
As competition for the smartphones market hots up, new players are making waves.
Durable build, top-tier innards and compatibility with MotoMods make Moto Z2 Force a power-packed smartphone, says Khalid Anzar
The Redmi 3S boasts of a fantastic built quality, brilliant battery back up, and a pretty good display
The Canadian smartphone maker is banking on its platform-agnostic security and software products to make incursions in the market.
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