Politics have made it hard for many Chinese companies to do business in India.
Mumbai: Xiaomi Corp (1810. HK), a Chinese smartphone manufacturer, said on Sunday that it was “disappointed” by an Indian order freezing $682 million of its assets and that it would continue to protect its own interests.
On Friday, an Indian court upheld an April order by India’s federal agency for fighting financial crime, the Enforcement Directorate, to seize 55.51 billion rupees. A probe found that Xiaomi had sent money to foreign companies without permission by saying it was for royalties.
In a statement released on Sunday, the Chinese company that makes smart devices said that over 84% of the 55.51 billion Indian rupees that the Enforcement Directorate seized earlier this year were royalties paid to the U.S. company Qualcomm Group (QCOM.O).
It said, “We will keep doing everything we can to protect the company’s reputation and the interests of our stakeholders.”
The company said that Xiaomi India is part of the Xiaomi Group and that it has a legal agreement with Qualcomm to use Qualcomm’s intellectual property to make smartphones.
The statement said that both Xiaomi and Qualcomm think it is a good business deal for Xiaomi India to pay Qualcomm royalties.
Counterpoint Research says that Xiaomi and Samsung lead the smartphone market in India, which is the second largest in the world after China. Each has an 18% share of the market.
Politics have made it hard for many Chinese companies to do business in India since a border fight in 2020.
Since then, India has banned more than 300 Chinese apps, including popular ones like TikTok, citing security concerns. India has also made it harder for Chinese companies to invest in India by making the rules stricter.