ByteDance Ltd. is said to be negotiating a sale of the Indian business of TikTok to rival unicorn Glance, in an attempt to resuscitate the once-thriving short video sharing app that has been banned indefinitely in the country.
The discussions have been initiated by Japan’s SoftBank Group Corp. conglomerate. SoftBank is a backer of Glance’s parent InMobi Pte as well as TikTok’s Chinese parent, ByteDance. The final deal will subject to the approval of the Indian government.
India banned thousands of Chinese apps including TikTok last year following intense hostility on the India-China border.
SoftBank has been attempting to salvage TikTok’s India assets and had been searching for local partners even as the new U.S. administration put on hold the unwinding of the American operations of the popular short video platform, asking a federal judge to pause a lawsuit after former President Donald Trump banned it.
If the talks progress, the Indian government will insist that the user data and technology of TikTok stay within its borders. That’s because relations between New Delhi and Beijing remain strained, and India will make no allowances for China-based technology companies, they said.
China’s new rules around the export of technology make the negotiations even more intricate, and any sale of TikTok could need approval from Chinese authorities.
The dramatic reversal in TikTok’s fortunes came last summer after the app had hit over 200 million users in India, its biggest market. The Indian government cited threats to its sovereignty and security to outlaw a number of Chinese apps such as the artificial intelligence-powered TikTok, and last month indicated the ban was permanent.
ByteDance then started unwinding its local operations, firing hundreds of Indian employees, many of whom have since gravitated to homegrown rivals.
1 Comment
Pingback: WeChat keeps growing despite China’s crackdown - Innovation Village | Technology, Product Reviews, Business