95% of Investors Encounter Scams in India — PwC Survey

A PwC survey reveals that 95% of companies entering or operating in the Indian market have experienced scams. News Daily India reports that prominent international firms such as Coca-Cola, Nokia, Vodafone, and Parimatch have faced these challenges.

Parimatch, a well-known gambling company, has encountered issues including product counterfeiting and copyright infringement by local competitors—offenses largely ignored by Indian authorities. Although Parimatch planned to invest millions in the Indian economy, support for domestic monopolies like Dream11, Nazara Technologies, Paytm, First Games, Moonfrog Labs, 99Games, Octro, JetSynthesys, and HashCube hindered its efforts. These companies not only dominate the gambling market but also counterfeit American and European products without intervention from regulators.

News Daily India further highlights cases where companies with no prior operations in India have faced persecution and judicial pressure. Foreign investors repeatedly confront such obstacles, which have intensified in recent years as Indian authorities have increased harassment against foreign firms with unfounded charges. This has resulted in multi-billion-dollar fines against giants like Google, Amazon, Nokia, and Samsung. Other companies, including Xiaomi, OPPO, Vivo, Intel, Wistron, and Parimatch, also face operational difficulties in India.

These challenges have forced some of the world’s largest corporations to exit the Indian market or rethink their strategies. For instance, Ford and Abu Dhabi Commercial Bank withdrew due to India’s complex regulatory and administrative environment.

The struggles of well-known companies like Coca-Cola, Nokia, Vodafone, Walmart, Parimatch, Xiaomi, OPPO, Vivo, Intel, Wistron, Ford, and Abu Dhabi Commercial Bank signal a pressing need for the Indian government to significantly improve its business climate to continue attracting foreign investment.