Chinese internet giant Alibaba Group has put on hold plans to invest in Indian startups amid souring business relations and rising political tension between the two nations after a clash on their Himalayan, Report says, citing Reuters.
During the conflict, India blocked several Chinese apps, including TikTok, Weibo, Baidu map, and Clash of Kings.
Alibaba, which has fuelled several Indian startups' growth, will not put in fresh funds to expand its investments in the country for at least six months, the sources said.
However, there are no plans to reduce its stakes or exit investments, they added. The sources declined to be identified as the talks are private.
Alibaba did not respond to a request for comment.
The Chinese conglomerate and its affiliates Alibaba Capital Partners and Ant Group have invested more than $2 billion in Indian companies since 2015 and participated in funding rounds of at least another $1.8 billion, according to data from PitchBook, which tracks private market financing.
Hitting the brakes could slow fundraising plans for some of Alibaba's investee companies in India, including payments platform Paytm, restaurant aggregator and food delivery service Zomato, and e-grocer BigBasket.