Chinese Developers Create Most Popular Apps in Indian Market

A new report from FactorDaily has revealed that Chinese app developers are focusing heavily on the Indian market, and many are beginning to see success.

The data shows that 44 of the top 100 Android apps in India in 2018 were published by Chinese companies. In 2017, that number was just 18.

The report gives special attention to Android devices because it is the preferred operating system in the second most populous country. In July, three major executives from Apple India left the company following poor iPhone sales.

S. Ramakrishna Velamuri, from the China Europe International Business School, said to FactorDaily: “For Chinese companies in any sector, India is the only market that has the possibility of being as big as their market. There’s no other market that’d even come close.”

Some of the highest-ranked Chinese developers include ByteDance and Tencent, as well as smartphone company Xiaomi which has invested in several local startups.

Alibaba, China’s biggest business, has influenced the Indian e-commerce market with the introduction of two companies, Snapdeal and Paytm.

The success of these app developers is in part due to their willingness to create dedicated apps for India, or to work in purpose-built local teams with existing products. FactorDaily’s analysis says the localisation is a move to ditch the tag of being a ‘Chinese’ app, which may trigger suspicion in Indian consumers.

Google has been working on Neighbourly, a hyperlocal social network for users in India. The platform is slowly being rolled-out in different cities but is yet to see any major traction.

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