Chinese smartphone giant Xiaomi has ambitions to expand into India’s consumer and B2B loan market with the launch of a new financial institution in the subcontinent.
XIaomi has just established non-bank financial institution Xiaomi Financial Services India, as well as applied for a relevant business license from the Indian central bank.
Application documents submitted by Xiaomi to Indian authorities indicate that the company was founded on 10 October, and is a subsidiary of Xiaomi’s offshore vehicles Xiaomi Financial (Hong Kong) Co., Ltd.) and XIaomi Singapore Financial Technology Corporation.
Indian law permits foreign direct investment in non-bank financial institutions, which paves the way for Xiaomi to use its local subsidiary to expand into the local e-commerce and B2B lending sector.
Xiaomi has already established two Indian subsidiaries – MI Credit and MI Finance, as part of efforts to expand into the South Asian fintech sector.
The latest move from Xiaomi comes just after Chinese fintech giant Ant Financial made a $210 investment in Indian online food delivery company Zomato.
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