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.
"We are interested in states like West Bengal, but the government does not seem enthusiastic about this.Currently, we are looking at states which are more proactive and have invited us in setting up this venture," said Rajan Bharti Mittal, vice chairman and managing director of Bharti Enterprises.
Bharti Walmart is a 50:50 joint venture set up in 2007 between Bharti Enterprises and Walmart and is engaged in wholesale cash and carry trade.
American retail major Walmart has snapped ties with Indian partner Bharti but its plans to enter the country's multi-brand retail space appears intact.
The Union Cabinet in its decision of November 24, which has since been put on hold, permitted 51 per cent FDI in the multi-brand retail, well above expectations of the Walmart and its Indian joint venture partner -- Bharti Group.
Walmart has selected three IT vendors in India -- Infosys Technologies, Cognizant Technology Solutions and UST Global -- for multi-year contracts worth over $600 million (around Rs 2,750 crore).
The tide of startup-funding is turning in India, with a rising trend of overall funding while the deal sizes grow bigger. However, the spotlight now is on late-stage startups, many of which are seen to be headed for initial public offerings (IPOs). Record surge in stock markets and consistently improving performances of listed startups are understood to have turned the sentiment for the better, especially for those that exhibit a clear path to an IPO.
Why are financial-technology (fintech) players moving back to India, or doing the reverse-flipping?
Discount retailer DMart (Avenue Supermarts) hit its highest levels in a year and a half last week and is up over 11 per cent in the last one month. The company depends on low operating costs to offer the lowest prices to consumers, which enables sales velocity and scale, further reducing costs. This virtuous feedback loop has helped DMart gain market share in a sector dominated by unorganised stores.
The government will take necessary action on lobbying by Walmart to enter India if US authorities come out with "something tangible" on this matter, but a probe here could not substantiate allegations against the global retail giant, Corporate Affairs Minister Sachin Pilot says.
The company has spent close to Rs 125 crore since 2008 on its various lobbying activities.
The department for promotion of industry and internal trade has rejected Walmart-backed Flipkart's proposal seeking approval for entry to the food retail sector, citing a regulatory issue, an official said on Monday. The government permits 100 per cent foreign direct investment in food retail for food produced and manufactured in India.
PMO was asked to give details of lobbyists, advisers and representatives of Walmart.
It has been waiting in line with other global retailers like Carrefour and TESCO to tap the growing and lucrative Indian market.
Reliance Industries Ltd will acquire German firm Metro AG's wholesale operations in India for Rs 2,850 crore as the conglomerate run by billionaire Mukesh Ambani seeks to strengthen its dominant position in India's mammoth retail sector. "Reliance Retail Ventures Limited (RRVL), a subsidiary of Reliance Industries Ltd, signed definitive agreements to acquire a 100 per cent equity stake in Metro Cash & Carry India for a total cash consideration of Rs 2,850 crore, subject to closing adjustments," said a joint statement. Through this acquisition, Reliance Retail will get access to a network of Metro India stores located in prime locations across key cities, along with a large base of registered kiranas and other institutional customers, and a strong supplier network.
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.
$100-million Walmart investment of 2010 into Cedar, a group company of Bharti, is being investigated by ED.
WalMart International President and CEO Doug McMillon said in Davios that the Indian government's concerns over allowing foreign direct investment in multi-brand retail were misplaced.
The government on Thursday said it will set up a committee to look into the allegations that US retail giant Walmart indulged in lobbying activities in India to gain entry in the country's market.
As Amazon India, Flipkart are forced to shut down 60 categories and push out 45 mn products, a new lobby group comprising sellers is in the making to take up e-com concerns.
Walmart is still waiting for the multi-brand retail sector to open for foreign direct investment.
Global retail giant Walmart has got fair trade regulator CCI's green signal for purchase of Bharti group's almost 50 per cent stake in their Indian joint venture for wholesale stores business.
Readying its game plan, the Bengaluru-based e-commerce giant plans to renew talks of investments in various companies such as Swiggy, BookMyShow, Pepperfry, UrbanClap
The Bharti Group, promoted by the Mittal family, had searched high and low for a foreign partner when it wanted to start its cash
Flipkart, the e-commerce company owned by Walmart, is intensifying its efforts to achieve profitability as it is eyeing a valuation of approximately $60 billion at the time of its initial public offering (IPO), now planned in 2025-2026, instead of this year, according to people familiar with the matter. The firm might consider listing in the US or any other geography, including India. The company, which counts the likes of Amazon and Reliance's JioMart among its competitors in India's burgeoning e-commerce market, had also contemplated launching an IPO in 2022-2023.
In the backdrop of the crisis brewing at Paytm Payments Bank, major fintech companies are ramping up their workforce and inducting new faces in their leadership teams, industry sources said on Wednesday. Users will not be able to add funds to their Paytm Payments Bank Wallet after February 29, though they will still be able to use the services and the existing balance in the wallets, according to the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) diktat. Industry sources said that competitors to Paytm are investing heavily in offline payments while doubling their salesforce.
The world's largest retail chain, the $446-billion Walmart, is likely to be the first international player to take off in India with its supermarket format. The Bentonville-based US giant is, in fact, ready with a network of 195 stores across India if it decides to extend its back-end and cash-and-carry partnership with Bharti Enterprises to front-end retail.
The demand for a Joint Parliamentary Committee probe into disclosures by retail giant Walmart on lobbying in India was made by several members in the Lok Sabha on Tuesday.
Latest 'clarifications' add to the confusion; foreigners may delay investments, and Indian firms will find it difficult to get investors.
Walmart group firm Flipkart continues to dominate the e-commerce segment with 48 per cent market share while Softbank-backed Meesho has emerged as the fastest growing e-commerce platform in terms of user base in India, a latest report by AllianceBernstein said. According to the report, Flipkart's user base grew 21 per cent year-on-year (YoY), Meesho accelerated at 32 per cent while Amazon lagged at 13 per cent user growth primarily due to relative premium offerings as compared to peers. "As of FY23, Flipkart was the market leader, with a 48 per cent share in India eCommerce.
Walmart is keen to spruce up presence in India.
The CBI, in its letter, said the matter was 'analysed' by the agency and it 'revealed violations of RBI guidelines and FEMA regulations'.
Others like IBM, Coke and Pepsi also lobby for foreign markets.
American online major Amazon seems to be almost doubling its India investment going by the company's recent announcement during Prime Minister Narendra Modi's state visit to the US. From the time the Seattle-headquartered company started its India journey in 2013, its investment into the country is pegged at $11 billion or roughly $1.1 billion a year. By committing a fresh round of $15 billion by 2030, the Jeff Bezos-founded company's investment would go up to more than $2 billion a year over the next seven years.
Startup founders need to sit up and think about how not to take stardom for granted and how not to disappoint their fans who have stood in long queues for those precious selfies with popular entrepreneurs, notes Nivedita Mookerji.
Walmart-owned digital payments app Phonepe on Thursday said it has raised $350 million at a valuation of $12 billion in a funding round led by private equity firm General Atlantic. "Marquee Global and Indian investors are also participating in the round," PhonePe said in a statement adding the investment marks the first tranche of an up to $1 billion total fundraise that commenced in January 2023. The fundraise follows PhonePe's recently announced change of domicile to India and full separation from Flipkart.
Global investment management firm Bernstein has pegged the enterprise valuation of Reliance Industries (RIL)'s 85 per cent stake in Reliance Retail at $111 billion, while valuing the Mukesh Ambani-led company's 66.5 per cent stake in telecom and digital platform arm Reliance Jio at $88 billion. Reliance Industries had earlier planned to list both its subsidiaries to unlock value for its shareholders but hadn't fixed any timeline. The report said that Reliance Retail had raised $6 billion by diluting a 10.1 per cent stake, while Jio Platforms raised $20 billion from investors by selling 33 per cent in 2020.
E-commerce major Flipkart has burnt cash of $3.7 billion (about Rs 30,000 crore) in about a year ending September 2022, according to regulatory filings. Flipkart had $1 billion in cash in July 2021, which came down to $887 million by September 2022. The company, in July 2021, raised $3.6 billion (about Rs 29,000 crore), which has been completely exhausted, according to regulatory filings of Flipkart and Walmart.
Walmart's entry into India will mean profits for the Americans and jobs for the Chinese, says Mohan Guruswamy.
Jeff Bezos, chief executive officer of Amazon, has committed to invest $5.5 billion into India and that figure is approaching quickly.
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