Do you know these popular brands are actually Chinese?

5 popular apps and brands that have a Chinese stake or are owned by Chinese Companies.

Representational Image

New Delhi: Amidst the ongoing border tiff between India and China, there has been a rise in concern about Chinese goods and brands.

Notwithstanding their huge popularity in India, many would be surprised to know that some of these top selling brands are actually Chinese owned.

Here is a list of 5 such popular apps and brands that have a Chinese stake or are owned by Chinese Companies

Motorola

In 2014, China's Lenovo Group closed its acquisition of the Motorola handset unit from Google Inc by paying $2.91 billion. Google had acquired the iconic smartphone brand and its prized patent portfolio in 2012 for $12.5 billion, though under the Lenovo deal, the search engine giant is believed to have retained a significant portion of Motorola's patents.

PUBG Mobile

The answer to this question is not very straight. PlayerUnknown's Battlegrounds, popularly known as PUBG, is a multiplayer game made by South Korean video game company Bluehole subsidiary PUBG Corporation. However, for the PUBG MOBILE, which is not made by the same Bluehole subsidiary, China’s Tencent Games holds a 1.5 percent stake. So while PUBG is an out and out South Korean developed game, PUBG Mobile has a Chinese stake holder.

It must be noted here that in September 2020, the South Korean gaming company said that China's Tencent Games will no longer be authorised to distribute the PUBG MOBILE franchise in India. The development has come after India banned 118 apps, including PUBG MOBILE in the country.

MG Motor

(Image Courtesy: Pixabay)

MG Motors has made its foray into the Indian automobile market. MG Motor is a subsidiary of SAIC Motor UK, actually owned by the Chinese state-owned SAIC Motor.

GE Electric appliances

Chinese white goods company Haier acquired the General Electric's appliance division in 2019. The deal gave Haier ownership of a century-old business involved in making of refrigerators, freezers, clothes washers and dryers.

Riot Games

If you are a gamer, it is but obvious that you will know Riot Games. Even those non-gamers would also be aware of the popular League of Legends –yet another very popular name in the video gaming world. Chinese company Tencent now own riot, all of it. Chinese Internet Company Tencent Holdings acquired a majority stake in Riot Games in 2011.