CHENNAI: Chinese smartphone maker Xiaomi could well see itself strengthening its campaign for the Indian market in the near future, with the company announcing on Friday it had secured a $1 billion loan to expand its global footprint and increase its retail opportunities. India is one of the largest markets for the company.
The last time the firm had secured a loan of this size was in 2014, when it had secured a three-year syndicated loan of $1 billion.” New retail, which is the integration of online and offline retail, and globalisation are two of the company’s top five strategic areas for development. The syndicated loan will further boost its efforts to develop these areas,” said Lei Jun, Xiaomi CEO and founder.
Analysts in India say this could see the fight for the smartphone market in the country intensify. According to available data from Canalys, the Indian smartphone market could have contracted for the first time during April-June 2017. More interesting however, is that Chinese players saw massive gains in market share.
“While the company has not specifically said India would be one of the international markets benefitting from the loan, it certainly is. The company is close to ousting Samsung and becoming market leader,” pointed out a senior telecom analyst.
In fact, Chinese players have continued to strengthen their hold on the Indian market. Xiaomi, vivo, Oppo, Gionee, and Lenovo put together control over 50 per cent of the Indian smartphone market leaving less room for other players.