India’s Ratan Tata has made an undisclosed investment in Xiaomi as the Chinese smartphone maker sets the country up as flag bearer for its international expansion drive.
The Indian industrialist is best known for being the former chairman of…
India’s Ratan Tata has made an undisclosed investment in Xiaomi as the Chinese smartphone maker sets the country up as flag bearer for its international expansion drive.
The Indian industrialist is best known for being the former chairman of Mumbai-based conglomerate Tata Group, owner of Tata Communications. He stepped down from the role in 2012 to focus on Tata’s charitable trusts and investing in start ups.
Xiaomi’s founder and CEO Lei Jun said: “An investment by him is an affirmation of the strategy we have undertaken in India so far. This is just the start of an exciting journey, and we are looking forward to bringing more products into India.”
The group chose India last week to unveil the first phone it has launched outside its home market, the Mi 4. The handset will also be available in Malaysia, Indonesia, Singapore, Taiwan and Hong Kong.
Founded just five years ago, Xiaomi has grown fast to become the largest smartphone manufacturer in China, ahead of rivals such as Sony and Lenovo. The group caused a wave of headlines late last year when it raised US$1.1bn in a funding round that valued it at US$45bn.
It is not the only foreign telecoms firm looking to tap into India’s potential for growth. Japanese internet giant Softbank has pinned its expansion strategy on the country, where it has been making a number of e-commerce acquisitions.
Notably, Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba, in which Softbank is the largest shareholder, paid US$590m for a minority stake earlier this year in Meizu Technology, a China-based smartphone maker.
