Indian government banning 59 Chinese apps over security reasons last week is a big blow to China. The list includes popular apps like TikTok, which amassed at least 200 million active users in India. And since it’s banned now, the owner of TikTok, ByteDance estimates the loss amounting to over $6 billion, as reported by Chinese local news.
ByteDance to Lose About $6 Billion Over TikTok’s Ban!
India’s cyber retaliation against China as a result of the border tensions between these two nations, happening since last month. Though there are serious soldier killings reported in the war, both nations are revoking contracts and banning online stuff that connected each other for so long. This includes the banning of 59 Chinese apps by the Indian government last week.
The list includes a popular name – TikTok, that gained over 600 million installs in the first quarter of India this year. Indian youth is the biggest market for ByteDance’s TikTok, after China where the same app runs on a different name as Douyin. And the striking move by the Indian government has affected the maker significantly. This was revealed by China’s news reporter, Caixinglobal.com.
The report says that ByteDance, maker of TikTok is estimating losses of about $6 billion since the app’s ban. That’s more than the loss borne by all other 58 apps combined! The list also includes names like Alibaba’s AliExpress, Baidu’s Map, Tencent’s WeChat etc. While most of them are fairly popular in India, TikTok is just another level.
ByteDance has other apps like Vigo Video and Helo, which were also in the banned list. Though Indians are now trying to migrate to native apps like Chingari or Mitron, the TikTok India’s president is Nikhil Gandhi said the company was invited to talks with relevant authorities and hoping to come back live soon. Moreover, ByteDance has employed over 2,000 full-time staff in India to gain trust.