Walmart is still waiting for the multi-brand retail sector to open for foreign direct investment.
America's Walmart is likely to be the first overseas chain to enter the $590-billion Indian retail sector, as the the world's biggest retail giant is extending its parternship with Sunil Mittal's Bharti Enterprises.
He feels that the reserve price set by the government for the 2G spectrum auction was very high.
Bharti-Walmart, the joint wholesale retail venture between Bharti Enterprises and the world's largest retailer Wal-Mart Stores Inc of the US, unveiled its sustainable agricultural programme at Haider Nagar village, near Malerkotla in Punjab.
The company launched its first store in Amritsar in May, 2009.
RIL had earlier decided not to pursue the cash-and-carry model due to a number of reasons, including a growing unrest towards organised retail.
In its comment on the industry department's discussion paper on foreign direct investment in multi-brand retail, the joint venture between Bharti Enterprises and Walmart, said though 100 per cent FDI should be allowed in the sector, it would endorse a calibrated opening.
Energy's exit is a cautionary tale for several foreign investors in India as close to 16 Gw of solar and wind power projects languish without any power purchase agreement, 24 Gw without transmission connectivity and around 2 Gw unilaterally cancelled by project developers.
Mukesh Ambani is also a member of the Prime Minister's Council on Trade and Industry.
Walmart is happy with its current partnership with Bharti.
Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry president and Bharti Enterprises vice president Rajan Bharti Mittal chaired a symposium on corporate leadership on climate change in the presence of the Prince of Wales, who is here in connection with the Commonwealth Games.
Bharti Retail has started offering facility to pay shopping bills through mobile phones
Mike Duke (left), senior vice president, Wal-Mart, and Sunil Bharti Mittal, president CII and chairman & group CEO, Bharti Enterprises, pose for a photo during the US-India Business Council luncheon in Washington, DC on Tuesday.
The US-based retailer Walmart Stores Inc, which has a wholesale joint venture with Bharti Enterprises, said its immediate focus in India will be to scale up operations before aiming to be profitable in a medium to long term.
The world has changed from G7 to G8 to G20, where India plays a key role.
The deal enables Bharti Airtel to extend its services in 15 countries across the African continent.
The good news is that India is hitting critical mass across product categories like mobile telephony, auto and consumer electronics, to name a few.
As against the 2007 target of 10-15 stores in seven years, it is planning to touch around 25 cash and carry outlets in India by the end of 2012.
Bharti Walmart Pvt Ltd will invest over $40 million (around Rs 180 crore) in India by March next year to set up to six new 'Best Price Modern Wholesale' stores to expand presence in the country.
Bharti-Walmart Pvt Ltd, the joint venture between Bharti Enterprises and global retail major Walmart Stores, on Wednesday opened its first agricultural cooperative centre at Sirhind in Punjab.
Mittal said any company, which does business that can cause loss of life of a magnitude where an entire township could be wiped out, needs to be responsible enough not only on technology but also that the backup is enough.
Wal-Mart at present runs wholesale operations in India in an equal partnership with Bharti Enterprises.
India has the third highest number of billionaires in the world after the US and China, according to a new list by the prestigious Forbes magazine, which said Reliance Industries chairman Mukesh Ambani reclaimed his spot as Asia's richest person, dethroning Chinese business tycoon Jack Ma who was the richest person in the region a year ago.
Rajan Bharti Mittal, vice-chairman and managing director of Bharti Enterprises took over as president of Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI) at the conclusion of its 82nd annual general meeting (AGM).
Sunil Mittal-led Bharti Airtel acquired the African business of Kuwait-based Zain in a $10.7-billion deal, which was completed in June.
Bharti Enterprises and US-based Wal-Mart Stores entered into a joint venture in August 2007 and started cash-and-carry stores named 'BestPrice Modern Wholesale' last year.
In an exclusive interview to NDTV Profit, chairman of Bharti Enterprises, Sunil Mittal, hit out at what he called the irrational pricing of spectrum between older and newer players.
The Bharti group, which has just acquired a majority stake in the Bangladeshi mobile operator Warid Telecom, is on the lookout to acquire government-owned telcos in developing markets like Africa which are up for divestment.
Sanjay Kapoor is the man handpicked by Sunil Mittal, the founder promoter of Bharti Enterprises, to get the next 100 million subscribers for the group's mobile telephony arm, Bharti Airtel. In the space of just a year, Kapoor has been promoted a second time.
Non-resident Indian businessman C Sivasankaran's Sterling Infotech group is in talks with the Seychelles government to lease an island for 99 years, on which it plans to build an integrated mega township and tourism project.
We are also trying to bring in modern processes and technologies in the area of supply chain, logistics and cold chain that should ultimately benefit the entire retail ecosystem through better quality, and more choice at better prices, says Bharti.
The auction concluded on Wednesday generating a revenue of Rs 67,710 crore.
Bharti Enterprises vice chairman and managing director Rajan Mittal said most of these will be Easyday stores.
Once the deal is through, Bharti Airtel would be the seventh largest telecom company in the world, with a subscriber base of 171 million.
While a company spokesperson said Bharti would either dilute its stake or exit the venture, the fund house is trying to rope in a bank to strengthen its distribution network. In addition, an asset management venture is seen to have closer links with banks, which are looking to offer a wide range of financial products.
Homegrown chat application Hike messenger on Wednesday said it will offer free voice calls to its users over 2G, 3G and wi-fi services across the globe in over 200 countries.
Bharti Enterprises, the holding company of Bharti Airtel and other businesses such as insurance and retail is aiming to achieve $10 billion revenue by 2010 and become a strong conglomerate a decade later, its chairman Sunil Mittal said on Monday.
Bharti Retail exuded confidence that it is 'on course' to become a billion dollar company by 2015, and will open 40 more stores in the next three months notwithstanding the economic slowdown.
Sunil Bharti Mittal, chairman and group CEO of Bharti Enterprises and former president of the Confederation of Indian Industry, said on Tuesday that it was time for the United States to change its position towards India vis-a-vis Pakistan.
The retailer has registered a new company called 'Wal-Mart India Private Ltd' in the country, according to the data available with the Ministry of Corporate Affairs.
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