Chinese conglomerate ByteDance is involved in early talks with Reliance Industries Limited to shore up TikTok’s service in India in a bid to possibly save the life of influential video app users in its largest country.
After June 29, TikTok was been suspended in India as a consequence of geopolitical uncertainties with China that have contributed to the app being censored along with other 58 Chinese apps.
India became TikTok’s biggest market outside of China with more than 200 million consumers. ByteDance hires 2,000 workers in a nation whose life rests on the willingness of the business to persuade the government to allow them to run or sell themselves.
Reliance and ByteDance launched negotiations late last month and have yet to enter an agreement. TikTok’s business in India is estimated at more than $3 billion. Investment in TikTok could enable the oil-to-retail giant Reliance to create deeper ties with customers.
Though Jio Platforms has accrued approximately 400 million subscribers in India in less than four years of its existence, its consumer-facing applications have failed to duplicate the appeal.
ByteDance has told workers that it is in contact with the Indian Government to address New Delhi’s concerns and that it does not intend to lay off employees in the region.
