After India Bans 59 Chinese Apps, ByteDance Set to Suffer Rs 45000 Crore Loss: Report

New Delhi: The Central government’s decision to ban 59 Chinese apps, including the famous TikTok, could cause huge loss to its parent company ByteDance Also Read – US Welcomes India’s Decision to Ban 59 Chinese Apps, Mike Pompeo Says it Will Now Boost National Security

In a report, China’s state-run media The Global Times stated that ByteDance could lose up to Rs 45,000 crore (USD 6 billion) as a result of the Indian government’s decision to ban TikTok, Helo and other Chinese apps. Also Read – ‘TikTok Continues to Comply With All Data Privacy and Security Requirements Under Indian Law’: CEO Kevin Mayer

The development comes as the Centre on Monday this week banned 59 Chinese apps, including hugely popular TikTok and UC Browser, saying they were prejudicial to sovereignty, integrity and security of the country. Also Read – Let The Dependence on Foreign Apps Stop: Ravi Shankar Prasad on Centre Banning 59 Chinese Apps

The move from the Centre comes in the wake of the current standoff along the Line of Actual control in Ladakh with Chinese troops.

The list of apps that have been banned by the Indian government also include Helo, Likee, CamScanner, Vigo Video, Mi Video Call Xiaomi, Clash of Kings as well as e-commerce platforms Club Factory and Shein.

Notably, India wasn’t the major source of revenue for TikTok but it was among the top nations to have most downloads for the app.

The Chinese daily further stated in the report that ByteDance had invested over USD 1 billion in the Indian market in the last few years and the ban could prove disastrous for the company’s business in India.

The Global Times further claimed that ByteDance’s loss would exceed the potential losses of all the other apps combined.

Justifying its move, Union Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad said the government has banned apps for safety, security, defence, sovereignty and integrity of India.

“For safety, security, defence, sovereignty & integrity of India and to protect data & privacy of people of India the Government has banned 59 mobile apps. Jai Hind!,” he said in a tweet.

On Tuesday, TikTok and other 58 Chinese apps went offline in the country following the government order banning it and other apps. These apps were also removed from Google Play Store and Apple App Store.

However, the status of other banned apps could not be immediately ascertained. According to some users, they were able to use the app for a brief period on Tuesday. It had 200 million users in India.