Xiaomi appoints new head of India unit after $700 million dispute

Xiaomi Corp has appointed Alvin Tse as the new director of its India business, as the Chinese smartphone company faces government challenges in its second-largest market by user base.

Tse, who was previously the top Xiaomi executive in Indonesia, will take over as general manager for the company’s India unit, Xiaomi said without giving an exact schedule, following the transformation. of Manu Kumar Jain, who previously headed Xiaomi India, will move into a global role as head of International Strategy, including International Marketing and PR in his global role.

The appointment comes as Xiaomi battles allegations by India’s anti-money laundering agency that it moved money out of the country by falsely claiming it was to pay for patent fees. The agency seized more than $700 million from the Chinese smartphone maker’s India unit in April, a move that has been paused pending a final court ruling.

India’s tough stance on Xiaomi is part of broader scrutiny of Chinese companies, since the Himalayan border clash between the two nuclear-armed neighbors in 2014. 2020.

Under the leadership of Manu Kumar Jain, Xiaomi has grown from another upstart to become the largest smartphone maker in India, a position it has largely maintained for more than three years. But he stepped down as India’s leader last year.

No stranger to India. According to people familiar with the matter, Manu Kumar Jain was instrumental in shaping Xiaomi’s strategy and execution in its early days, and has held various roles at the company over the years. . But Alvin Tse, who is also an “angel investor” in several startups in India, is also one of the founding members at Poco, a sub-brand that Xiaomi launched before launching. develop into an independent business.

“After the transition, Alvin Tse will work with Xiaomi India leadership team and support the next phase of the company’s growth. As a true global citizen with British citizenship, Alvin Tse has helped Xiaomi. successfully expanded to many global markets,” the Xiaomi company said in a statement.

Xiaomi also announced that Anuj Sharma, a former Motorola executive who also previously worked at Xiaomi and moved to Poco more than two years ago, will rejoin the Chinese giant as its chief marketing officer. town.

“Alvin Tse will join hands with the Xiaomi India leadership team and support the company’s next phase of growth. Educated at Stanford University and has worked across the four largest smartphone and internet markets in the world, Alvin Tse enjoys markets, people and opportunities to connect,” Xiaomi said in a statement. With the guidance of the new “balances”, Xiaomi India will continue to be faithful to its philosophy. Its core philosophy is to constantly create great products, at honest prices, so that people around the world can enjoy a better lifestyle through innovative technology,” the company said.

This event comes at a pivotal time for Xiaomi. Even while maintaining an important position in the Indian smartphone market, Samsung and Realme are increasingly closing the gap.

Recently, India’s Anti-Money Laundering Authority summoned Xiaomi executives including Jain for questioning about tax compliance. Xiaomi, which has denied wrongdoing, then alleges that its executives faced threats of “physical violence” during interrogation, Reuters reported.

Meanwhile, the Electronics and Mobile Association of India, a lobbying group representing Apple and many other tech giants, late last month asserted that Indian authorities lacked understanding of the issue. how patents and royalties work, a core element of the dispute between Xiaomi and the anti-money laundering agency.

Over the past four years, Xiaomi has been actively expanding its presence in India, setting up its iconic stores and partnering with many local retailers. It has also made extensive inroads with phone makers like Foxconn to move most of its assembly work to India from China. But the company is not immune to geopolitical tensions between India and China.

As a result, India banned more than 200 apps with links to China in 2020. Some Xiaomi apps were also blacklisted in India and amid frictions between the two neighboring countries. armed with nuclear weapons.