In June 2020, the Indian Government declared the ban on 59 Chinese apps as they were a threat to “sovereignty and integrity” of the country amidst the war-like situation between the countries. But, according to Reuters, Reliance is planning to invest in TikTok; discussions were happening between Reliance India and ByteDance before the ban.
It’s speculated that the conversations began last month, and still there is no conclusive deal or announcement. When Reuters asked for comments from ByteDance and TikTok; they refrained from commenting on the matter.
India is the largest market of TikTok after China, and the future of 2000 employees of ByteDance is dangling in the discussions. If the Government uplifts the ban on the App or Reliance invests in the App; then the AppApp can be restarted in India. Currently, TikTok’s business only in India is $3billion approx.
Not just India, many countries are imposing bans on Chinese Apps, including the United States. A few days back, the president of the United States, Donald Trump announced a ban on transactions with China-based apps TikTok and WeChat.
Microsoft Corp is in discussions to take over US operations of the AppApp, and even Twitter expressed interest in striking a deal with TikTok.
Coming back to India, if the deal strikes between Reliance and ByteDance, it means a ban on TikTok will be uplifted as Mukesh Ambani is the close ally of Modi ji and India’s richest man.
