New Delhi: The Indian government is considering prohibiting Chinese smartphone manufacturers from selling phones for less than Rs 12,000, which would be another setback for Chinese businesses.
The government and industry officials said, “India is working on a strategy to nudge Chinese smartphone players to steer clear of the under-Rs12,000 market segment, as part of a bid to revive the fortunes of local companies such as Lava and Micromax that have been pushed to the fringes in the last seven years.”
Samsung and a few other non-Chinese companies have gained some market share in the sub-Rs 15,000 smartphone segment, which is currently dominated by Chinese smartphone manufacturers.
According to Counterpoint Research, shipments of smartphones priced less than Rs 12,000 accounted for up to 80% of all sales in India for the three months ending in June 2022.
The ED has recently brought charges against several Chinese companies, including Xiaomi, Vivo, and Oppo, for alleged tax cheating. In a recent money laundering instance, the Enforcement Directorate froze Vivo’s bank accounts. Later, the corporation pleaded with the authorities to unfreeze the bank accounts so that it could carry on operations in the nation.
(Vinayak)
