The Union government has reportedly urged Chinese mobile phone manufacturers to include Indian equity partners in their local operations. Three executives, who were present in the meetings where this information was conveyed, have said. As per their accounts, the government expects Indian executives to take up key leadership roles such as chief executive officers, chief operating officers, chief financial officers, and chief technical officers in these companies.
According to the report by ET, the government has directed them to appoint Indian contract manufacturers, expand local manufacturing down to the component level through joint ventures with Indian businesses, and hire local distributors. There are Chinese distributors for some of the companies, the report added.
The report added that according to the executives, Chinese companies have also been directed not to evade taxes in India and to comply with the law.
In recent meetings held by the ministry of electronics and information technology (MeitY), top government officials discussed these issues with Chinese companies including Xiaomi, Oppo, Realme, and Vivo. Manufacturers’ lobby group ICEA represents manufacturers, the report added.
The MeitY meetings came at a time when several Chinese smartphone manufacturers were under investigation for tax evasion and alleged illegal remittances worth thousands of crores. In addition to lobbying with the government, offline retailers have also sought to ensure that predatory online discounting does not occur.
In addition to manufacturing operations, the government is seeking Indian equity partners for sales and marketing. There are currently wholly owned operations of Chinese smartphone companies in India.
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