Maharashtra puts 3 Chinese projects, including Great Wall Motors, on hold

Maharashtra has put on hold three initial investment proposals from Chinese companies worth 50 billion rupees ($658 million), a state minister said on Monday, after a deadly border clash between the countries last week.

The decision by the state government of Maharashtra, home to India's financial capital of Mumbai, comes days after it signed the investment agreements with the three Chinese companies, including Great Wall Motor Co.

"In the current environment we will wait for the federal government to announce a clear policy regarding these projects," Maharashtra's industries minister, Subhash Desai said in a statement, adding that the agreements, however, are not being cancelled.

India said last Tuesday 20 of its soldiers had been killed in clashes with Chinese troops at the border site, in a major escalation of a weeks-long standoff between the two Asian giants in the western Himalayas.