ByteDance in talks with India telecom corp for TikTok investment

Chinese tech heavyweight ByteDance is in early discussions with Reliance Industries Limit to back TikTok's business in the country, in a move to potentially save the popular video app's fate in its biggest market overseas, according to media portal TechCrunch.

Reliance's subsidiary Jio Platforms is India's largest telecom operator, with a subscriber base of nearly 400 million. "The investment in TikTok could help the oil-to-retail giant Reliance, the most valuable firm in India, make deeper connections with consumers," according to TechCrunch.

Reliance and ByteDance began conversations last month and have yet to reach a deal. TikTok had over 200 million users in India before it was banned along with 58 other Chinese apps on June 29, and sources told TechCrunch that TikTok's Indian business is valued at more than $3 billion.

At present, both ByteDance and Reliance have declined to comment.

Since late April this year, Jio Platforms has raised about $200 million from 13 investors, including Facebook and Google.