Reliance Retail Ventures Limited (RRVL) on Wednesday said it is acquiring a majority stake in Alia Bhatt’s children’s wear brand Ed-a-Mamma.

In a statement, RRVL said it has signed a joint venture agreement with Ed-a-Mamma to acquire a 51% stake. However, it didn’t disclose the financial details of the deal.

RRVL said it aims to closely collaborate with Bhatt and leverage the management strength of its subsidiary Reliance Brands to spearhead the business.

Founded in 2020, Ed-a-Mamma manufactures and sells kids-wear and maternity-wear products. The startup operates on an omnichannel model, selling across ecommerce platforms, its website, and offline retail chains, including Lifestyle and Shoppers’ Stop.

“With sustainability as its core proposition the brand has garnered acclaim for its meticulous attention to detail, using ethically sourced materials and eco-conscious production processes. This aligns seamlessly with Reliance Brands’ vision of fostering a more responsible future for the fashion industry,” said Isha Ambani, director of Reliance Retail Ventures Limited.

The development comes at a time when Reliance Retail is taking big strides to expand its online retail presence. Recently, the company entered into an agreement with the once-banned Chinese fast fashion brand, Shein, to reintroduce it to the Indian market.

Last month, the wholly-owned subsidiary of Reliance Industries received an investment of INR 8,278 Cr from the Qatar Investment Authority at a pre-money equity valuation of INR 8.3 Lakh Cr.

RRVL’s digital and new commerce businesses, including its fashion ecommerce venture AJIO, contributed 18% to its total revenue in Q1 FY24. The retail arm’s net profit stood at INR 2,448 Cr in Q1, while operating revenue was at INR 62,159 Cr.

RRVL also entered into the beauty and personal care (BPC) space in the country with the recent launch of its brand Tira, posing significant competition to Nykaa.

RRVL has been expanding its portfolio through multiple acquisitions, including those of V Retail and Insight Cosmetics, in the recent past.

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Reliance Industries Ltd’s (RIL’s) demerged arm Jio Financial Services Limited (JFSL) will be excluded from the NSE indices, including the benchmark Nifty 50, from September 7. 

“In accordance with the index methodology, as JIOFIN has not hit price band on two consecutive trading days on September 4, 2023 and September 5, 2023 at NSE, the index maintenance sub committee (equity) of NSE Indices has decided to exclude JIOFIN from various indices as listed hereunder effective from September 7, 2023,” said NSE in a statement. 

It added that the exclusion shall not be deferred further even if Jio Financial hits the price band on September 6.

Besides Nifty 50, the stock will be removed from Nifty 100, Nifty 200, Nifty 500, Nifty Energy, Nifty India Manufacturing and 13 other indices. RIL spun off Jio Financial as a separate entity in July this year, after which the latter became a publicly listed entity in late August. 

The company had a lacklustre start on the bourses, hitting the lower circuit for five straight sessions before gaining at the fag end of August. However, the stock has pared losses since then. 

Shares of Jio Financial continued their rise on Tuesday as well, gaining 0.73% to end the session at INR 255.30 on the NSE. The stock touched an intraday high of INR 259.7.

Meanwhile, as per Nuvama Alternative Research, Jio Financial’s delisting could reportedly see the sale of nearly 105 Mn shares worth $324 Mn by Nifty passive trackers. The research firm also said that NSE would emulate BSE’s 20% filter even as retail investors await NSE’s price band circular for the stock.

The development comes days after the BSE removed Jio Financial from its indices. However, MSCI and FTSE indices continue to retain Jio Financial without any impact on inflow or outflow.

Amid all this, Jio Financial appears all set to shake up the financial services industry. At the conglomerate’s 46th Annual General Meeting (AGM) last month, chairman Mukesh Ambani unveiled a blueprint of the company saying it will launch products in the payments and insurance segments, apart from its already announced foray into the asset management space. 

Jio Financial will also explore blockchain technology and the central bank digital currency (CBDC) to build new-age products. 

As per the company, Jio Financial became the world’s highest-capitalised financial services platform at the time of its inception before the delisting announcement. 

Be it testing a soundbox for payments or building products in the general insurance and health insurance spaces, Jio Financial has a plethora of offerings up its sleeves and this has sent alarm bells ringing across India’s burgeoning fintech ecosystem. The Reliance Group company will take on startups like Zerodha, Paytm Money, INDMoney and Groww, among others. 

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Ecommerce major Amazon on Monday (September 4) said it will invest $15 Mn to support nature-based projects in the Asia-Pacific (APAC) region. The investment will be drawn out of Amazon’s $100 Mn Right Now Climate Fund created in 2019. 

The climate fund was created to support nature conservation and restoration projects while driving benefits for communities. 

Out of the $15 Mn allocation for APAC, Amazon said the first phase of the project will focus on India with an investment of $3 Mn. For this phase, the US-based company will partner with  the Centre for Wildlife Studies (CWS) to support communities and conservation efforts in the Western Ghats. It is a UNESCO World Heritage Site and home to more than 30% of all of India’s wildlife species, including the world’s largest population of wild Asiatic elephants and tigers. 

Under this programme, Amazon’s funding will enable the CWS to establish the “Wild Carbon” programme, which will support 10,000 farmers in plantation and maintenance of 1 Mn fruit-bearing, timber and medicinal trees, the company said in a statement.

Commenting on the initiative, Kara Hurst, Amazon’s Global VP for Sustainability, said, “The Asia-Pacific region is home to vast forests and rich coastal environments, but it is also highly vulnerable to climate change, biodiversity loss and land degradation. To protect the region from the impacts of climate change and preserve biodiversity, we will need both large-scale and local action – and we’re committed to investing in both.”

With climate change emerging as a major threat to the world, a large number of companies across the globe have been allocating capital for sustainability.

The latest funding for the APAC region is part of Amazon’s broader efforts for decarbonisation. In 2019, the ecommerce behemoth cofounded The Climate Pledge, committing to reach net zero carbon emission by 2040. Nine Indian companies – BluPine Energy, CSM Technologies India, Godi, Greenko, HCL, Infosys, Mahindra Logistics, Tech Mahindra, and UPL – have also signed the pledge. 

Last year, Amazon also launched six utility-scale projects in India with an aim to power its global operations with 100% renewable energy by 2025. The projects included three wind-solar hybrid projects in Madhya Pradesh and Karnataka and three solar farms in Rajasthan, with an overall renewable energy capacity of 920 megawatts. Amazon India is also targeting having 10,000 electric vehicles in its delivery fleet by 2025.

The latest development comes at a time when India has emerged as an important market for global companies, including Apple, Tesla, and Amazon. Recently, following a meeting with Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Amazon CEO Andy Jassy said that the ecommerce giant would invest $15 Bn more in India over the next seven years. With this, the total investment of the firm in India will touch $26 Bn. 

Further, Amazon also said that it plans cumulative ecommerce exports of $20 Bn from India by 2025. It also aims to digitise 10 Mn small businesses and create 2 Mn jobs in India. 

The post Amazon To Invest $3 Mn In Nature-Based Projects In India Out Of $15 Mn APAC Allocation appeared first on Inc42 Media.

Apple is contemplating unveiling the iPhone 15 around the same time (September 12th) in India as its global launch, reducing the lag significantly.

According to sources cited by the ET, Apple is set to launch the latest iPhone in India in mid-September, cutting the delay short by several days. The Cupertino-based tech giant also launched the iPhone 14 in India at the same time as the world, though the Pro models were introduced to India almost three weeks later.

With India emerging as a key manufacturing hub for iPhones, Apple might launch its latest model in the country simultaneously with the rest of the world. Media reports from last month also suggested that Foxconn has already started manufacturing the iPhone 15 in its Chennai plant.

Foxconn had also begun producing the iPhone 14 within ten days of the global launch, though it took a month for made-in-India iPhones to reach the local market. 

This year, since Foxconn has already started manufacturing the iPhone 15, the delay, if any, will be only a few days, per the people cited above.

Apple’s PLI-Boosted Manufacturing In India

The manufacturing boost in India comes as the country already accounts for 7% of Apple’s global production, up from less than 1% before 2021 and the start of the production-linked incentive (PLI) scheme for smartphones.

Even though it is a carrot-and-stick situation, Apple has become the largest smartphone exporter in India. In 2022-23, Apple manufactured over $7.5 Bn of iPhones in India, of which around $5 Bn were exported, making Apple the country’s single largest mobile phone exporter.

Apple’s bullishness also pushed India’s mobile phone exports to over $11.1 Bn, a 91% increase over the last financial year.

Foxconn, Wistron and Pegatron, three of Apple’s contract manufacturers active in India, have also committed exports of INR 61,000 Cr in FY24 for the third year of the PLI scheme for smartphones. The companies are also well on their way to achieving the milestone –  the June quarter of FY24 saw iPhone exports cross INR 20,000 Cr, nearly five times higher on-year.

The iPhone has become the single largest contributor to electronics exports from India; 35% of all electronics exports and 66% of total mobile exports in the first quarter of FY24 were iPhones.

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The D2C startup ecosystem has been thriving in recent years, boasting of over 50K digital-first brands. In this rapidly evolving landscape, consolidations are becoming increasingly inevitable, with investors placing their bets on potential exit opportunities. When it comes to acquisition, timing is the most crucial factor, according to Rishubh Satiya, the cofounder of D2C nutrition brand Plix, which was acquired by Marico.

Satiya emphasised the significance of timing, saying, “I’ve witnessed this scenario frequently. People tend to underestimate their current situation. You need to discern when it’s the right moment to exit and when it’s best to stay and reserve the option to exit.”

He shared these insights during a panel discussion on “The BIG Exit – How D2C Brands Can Develop an Exit Strategy” at the fourth edition of Inc42’s D2C Summit 2023. The session was hosted by Angshuman Bhattacharya, national leader of consumer products & retail sector at EY India. Joining Satiya on the panel were Pranav Malhotra, founder of Trunativ; Prabhkiran Singh, CEO and cofounder of Bewakoof; and Mohit Sadaani, cofounder of The Moms Co.

Satiya said founders often prefer to raise funds at a higher valuation rather than pursuing an exit. However, during such moments, they should reflect on whether they have the capacity to increase their valuation from ‘X’ to ‘3X’ or ‘4X’, as venture capitalists would anticipate. Therefore, once again, timing plays a critical role.

Founders must decide whether it’s the right time to stay invested, secure funding at a potentially lower valuation to allow the team to focus less on metrics and grow at their own pace, or to pursue an exit and find comfort in that decision.

Established in 2020 by Satiya and Akash Zaveri, Plix is a Mumbai-based D2C startup that offers a diverse range of plant-based nutrition products, including workout supplements, ingestible sunscreens, hair growth serums, and skincare items.

In July 2023, Marico, a leading FMCG company, acquired Plix, marking a strategic move to expand its presence in the nutrition segment and enhance its position in the health and wellness category. The plant-based D2C brand now plans to leverage Marico’s extensive resources to strengthen its offline presence over the coming years.

Earlier, Plix secured $5 Mn in its Series A funding round from Guild Capital and RPSG Ventures in December 2021. Since its inception, the startup has consistently increased its turnover. In the financial year 2019-20, it reported a turnover of INR 10.92 Cr, which surged to INR 41.58 Cr in FY21. The company closed FY22 with a turnover of INR 106 Cr.

Competing with brands like OZiva, Setu Nutrition, and Fast&Up, Plix offered more than 60 SKUs across six categories at the start of the year. These products were available through the company’s website, ecommerce platforms, and physical stores, catering to over 1.5 Mn customers nationwide.

The post Marico Owned Plix’s Cofounder On The Role It Plays In Startup Exits appeared first on Inc42 Media.

Walmart spent $3.5 Bn during the six months ended July 31, 2023, to acquire Flipkart shares from non-controlling stakeholders, its regulatory filings with the SEC said.

Walmart acquired Flipkart shares from some non-controlling interest holders, which likely included Tiger Global and Accel. Walmart reportedly also bought the remaining stake of Flipkart cofounder Binny Bansal earlier this year.

As per the filing, Walmart also spent a part of the $3.5 Bn to settle the liability to former shareholders of PhonePe.

“During the six months ended July 31, 2023, the company paid $3.5 Bn to acquire shares from certain Flipkart noncontrolling interest holders and settle the liability to former noncontrolling interest holders of PhonePe,” Walmart’s filing said.

Tiger Global, the US-based investment giant, had sold a stake worth $1.4 Bn in Flipkart to Walmart, valuing the ecommerce giant at a whopping $38 Bn.

“We value Tiger Global’s involvement and support over the last several years. We remain confident in the future of Flipkart and are even more positive about the opportunity in India today than when we first invested,” a Walmart spokesperson said at the time.

Walmart also said in the filing that it received $700 Mn related to new rounds of equity funding for PhonePe. To be sure, the retailing giant also invested $200 Mn in the payments decacorn during the latter’s ongoing $1 Bn fundraising round as well.

In July, Flipkart also paid $700 Mn of cash compensation to employees as part of the separation of PhonePe from the ecommerce giant

Walmart’s international business reported net sales of $27.6 Bn during the quarter ended July 31, 2023. Around $5.8 Bn of sales of its international business came from ecommerce. However, Walmart did not specify Flipkart’s share in ecommerce sales in the segment.

Walmart has been investing heavily in India in both Flipkart and PhonePe. While it continues to raise its stake in Flipkart, Walmart is also working on a potential PhonePe IPO in 2024.

The US-headquartered retailer also spent nearly $1 Bn to pay taxes in India  due to PhonePe’s move to shift its headquarters to India.

On Flipkart, Walmart has reiterated on multiple occasions that the ecommerce company’s IPO remains a ‘long-term ambition’. 

India has been a battleground for Walmart and Amazon, as the two US-based retailing giants continue to fight to establish their dominance in the ecommerce space. While Amazon chose the organic route for India, developing the Amazon India business, Walmart acquired Flipkart in 2018 to enter the Indian ecommerce industry.

The two companies, as such, control India’s ecommerce landscape, with Flipkart and Amazon accounting for more than 90% of the market share.

The post Walmart Spent $3.5 Bn To Buy Flipkart Shares From Tiger Global, Others This Year appeared first on Inc42 Media.

India’s thriving D2C landscape has garnered significant interest from investors, entrepreneurs, and corporations alike. However, according to Prashanth Aluru, the cofounder & CEO of TMRW – House of Brands, the term D2C is more closely associated with digital-first brands. 

Elaborating his viewpoint during the fourth edition of Inc42’s virtual D2C Summit 2023, he said that to tap into the broader ecommerce opportunity in India, D2C brands must focus on being digital-first.

“As a D2C brand, you could be selling on marketplaces, your websites, or eventually adopting an omnichannel approach. However, fundamentally, you are a new-age brand catering to a new-age consumer,” Aluru said.

The Aditya Birla Group ventured into the realm of house of brands with TMRW in June 2022, with plans to build a portfolio of fashion and lifestyle brands by acquiring and incubating over 30 brands in the next three years. Their current portfolio includes names such as Berrylush, Bewakoof, Juneberry, Natilene, Nauti Nati, Nobero, Urbano, and Veirdo.

At a time when many D2C brands are enthusiastic about expanding offline and some are questioning the online demand, Aluru believes in ‘being digital first’. 

He acknowledged that ecosystems experience cycles of challenges and opportunities. While growth may appear slower compared to the Covid-19 era, the macro opportunity lies in building a new-age brand that starts as digital-first and gradually expands its presence offline and into omnichannel.

He stated, “There is still immense potential in the digital realm, so there’s no need to rush into the offline space, especially considering the complexities of scaling up offline operations from 10 to under 300 stores, which is an entirely different challenge.”

Furthermore, as a digital-first brand, the approach to offline expansion should differ from traditional brands like Louis Philippe or Allen. 

Aluru further stressed the importance of integration between the two channels, where one channel complements the other.

Understanding the consumer and ensuring a seamless experience across channels is essential. A digitally native consumer expects innovation in physical stores, such as having a complete catalogue available or offering an infinite aisle experience.

For D2C offline brands expanding into marketplaces, focussing on the products consumers prefer offline is key. 

“For instance, if you identify a best-seller in D2C, how can you bring it to the offline space or on platforms like Myntra or Amazon more efficiently? This is where we see the channel’s capability,” Aluru explained.

He reiterated that a brand can leverage multiple channels, but they all must be unified and seamless.

Aluru concluded the session by highlighting lessons learned from global and Indian examples, such as Lenskart, CaratLane, and Firstcry, which began as digital-first brands and have successfully demonstrated what an omnichannel presence should look like in the digital age.

The post TMRW’s CEO On Why D2C Brands Should Start Digital And Think Omnichannel Later appeared first on Inc42 Media.

Jio Financial Services (JFS), the demerged financial business arm of Reliance Industries, will be removed from the BSE, the index said on Thursday (August 31).

“…effective prior to the open of trading on Friday, September 01, 2023, Jio Financial Services Ltd will be removed from all the S&P BSE Indices following its listing on Monday, August 21, 2023, due to its spin-off from its parent, Reliance Industries,” the BSE said.

The stock was initially scheduled to be delisted on August 23, just two days after its listing on August 21. However, the plan was delayed by the exchanges since Jio Financial Services remained locked in the lower circuit.

On August 31, the stock rose for the third straight session and closed at an upper circuit of 5%, reaching INR 242.50 per share. Per Nuvama Alternative Research, JFS constitutes 1.1% of Sensex’s weight, potentially leading to a passive selling of about 60 Mn shares (worth approximately $180 Mn).

Nuvama said that Jio Financial won’t be removed from Nifty indices until the newly formed entity avoids price limits (upward or downward) for two consecutive days. The research firm said Nifty would release a press statement confirming the exclusion only if it avoids price band breaches for two consecutive days. They won’t communicate during this period.

In contrast, MSCI and FTSE indices will retain Jio Financial Services without any impact on inflow or outflow.

At the 46th Annual General Meeting (AGM) of Reliance Industries on Monday (August 28), chairman Mukesh Ambani said that JFS will have products in the payments and insurance segments in India besides being in the asset management business.

“In payments, JFS will consolidate its payment infrastructure with a ubiquitous offering for both consumers and merchants, further driving digital adoption,” said Ambani, adding that JFS products will not only compete with current industry benchmarks but also new-age features such as blockchain-based platforms and the central bank digital currency (CBDC).

JFS came into being last year after RIL announced the demerger of its financial services business and the spin-off of Reliance Strategic Investments as Jio Financial Services.

Ambani had also claimed that JFS had become the world’s highest-capitalised financial services platform at inception, before the delisting announcement. The company is focused on lending, insurance, payments and investments.

The post Jio Financial Services To Be Removed From Sensex On September 1 appeared first on Inc42 Media.

The Open Network for Digital Commerce (ONDC) has onboarded the food and beverage giant Pepsico on its platform. 

Pepsico is one of India’s leading consumer products companies which houses brands such as Lay’s, Pepsi, Quaker, Tropicana & Gatorade. 

Through this partnership, Pepsico expects to expand product discoverability and extend the customer base through the ONDC-affiliated seller applications. 

In a joint statement with ONDC, PepsiCo India President Ahmed ElSheikh said, “At PepsiCo India, the focus is to maximise choices on how consumers want to source our products.  We are always looking to innovate our go-to-market models.”

According to ElSheikh, the integration with ONDC will help the global F&B giant leverage the latest technology platform solutions, making it faster and more flexible in its market approach while enhancing consumer experiences.

Commenting on the development, ONDC MD & CEO T Koshy said, “PepsiCo India can now reach a wider customer base while offering expanded choices for buyers on the network.”

With this, Pepsico is all set to join the host of food and beverage brands like Rebel Foods, Wow! Momo, Red Bull, ITC, etc on ONDC. Earlier in June, it also saw Marico’s Saffola joining ONDC platform. 

In July, ONDC announced that its daily retail orders crossed the 35,000 mark with Delhi-NCR and  Bengaluru contributing more than 11,000 and 7,000 orders, respectively. The platform was recording as much as 40% sales in Bengaluru, followed by other metro cities like Pune, Kolkata, Hyderabad. 

The lower delivery charges offered by ONDC have raised concerns about its potential threat to established foodtech giants such as Zomato and Swiggy. However, brokerage firm Jefferies said in a report that ONDC does not pose any threat to the existing players. According to Jefferies, the platform’s growth is attributed to the incentives. If those are lifted, either the customers or sellers will have to compensate for it. 

As per Koshi’s statement, the number of restaurants on the platform stands at 50,000 across 172 cities now, while it stood at only 500 in February. Further, ONDC aims to double the restaurant count by the end of this year. 

Meanwhile, ONDC is also looking to add startups to the platform through multiple initiatives. Recently, Google Cloud launched an accelerator programme for the government-backed network. Also, Antler India launched a venture platform, Antler ONDC to provide resources, an expert network, community and capital to founders building on the platform.

The post F&B Giant Pepsico Joins ONDC Bandwagon appeared first on Inc42 Media.

As expected, Reliance (RIL) chairman Mukesh Ambani outlined the grand plan for Jio Financial Services at the conglomerate’s 46th annual general meeting. From payments to insurance to investment tech, JFS is set to disrupt several key fintech segments and pose a significant threat to existing players — both startups as well as legacy BFSI companies.

Jio Financial Services was demerged from RIL in July and became a publicly listed entity in late August. However, it has not had the best of starts as a public company, hitting the lower circuit for five straight sessions before gaining at the end of last week (August 25, 2023).

Interestingly, hours before the AGM, JFS stock saw a brief rally, but the stock fell below its opening price at the end of the trading on Monday (August 28, 2023). Currently, JFS shares are trading at INR 211.65 apiece, with the company’s market cap settling at INR 1.34 Lakh Cr.

Despite the initial hiccups on the stock market, Ambani claimed that JFS has become the world’s highest capitalised financial services platform at inception, and called this financial safety net as one of the key potential success factors for JFS.

All this makes ominous reading for India’s fintech startups, which have so far banked on Reliance Jio’s internet services as a growth ladder. But now, startups not only have to solve the revenue puzzle that has plagued fintech for long, but also compete with a giant such as JFS, backed by Reliance’s technological prowess, retail network and significant reach in the Indian market.

Jio boasts of over 439 Mn subscribers, while Reliance Retail has close to 250 Mn registered customers and 3 Mn merchants, according to the company’s FY23 annual report. These will be the anchors for scaling up Jio Financial Services over the next few quarters.

We know that JFS has already had an impact on the competition, even without any depth of operations right now. Soon after the public listing, shares of fintech giant Paytm saw a dip despite gaining for several weeks.

BFSI is a highly competitive space for retail investors and as such the entry of JFS is likely to eat into the potential investments in the likes of Paytm, Policybazaar (PB Fintech), Fino Payments Bank and others.

For fintech startups, the next few months will involve plenty of rethinking and many of them are likely to push on with product plans that have been sitting idle. Given that JFS will most likely lean on the twin pillars of Reliance Retail and Jio for growth and scale, fintech startups have their work cut out.

JFS Takes On Zerodha & Co

Reliance’s plans in the asset management space have received the most clarity in the early days of Jio Financial Services.

The company has signed a joint venture with the world’s largest asset manager BlackRock to take a bet on India’s $540 Bn mutual fund industry, dominated by the likes of SBI, ICICI, and HDFC.

BlackRock CEO Larry Fink was on hand at the AGM to talk about how Jio-BlackRock is poised to disrupt the AMC space. Fink pointed out that BlackRock has built extensive capabilities in the Indian market and the JV with Jio will unlock several more investment opportunities for millions of Indians.

Jio-BlackRock is also expected to pose a significant threat to startups such as Zerodha, Paytm Money, INDMoney and Groww in the investment tech space.

Indeed many of these startups do not have an AMC licence (Zerodha, Groww being exceptions) and therefore are restricted to earning commissions as brokerages rather than a bigger chunk of the revenue from investments in mutual funds. AMCs typically charge a management fee based on the asset percentage, while brokerages generally charge per trade or offer flat-fee accounts.

Will Jio Finally Crack Payments Game? 

Besides the investment tech space, Ambani also pointed out that Jio Financial Services would be offering payments services for consumers and merchants, and also claimed that Jio would deploy blockchain solutions to make payments more secure and would also foray into services built around Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC).

“In payments, JFS will consolidate its payment infrastructure, with a ubiquitous offering for both consumers and merchants further driving digital adoption for India. JFS products will not just compete with current industry benchmarks, but also explore path breaking features such as blockchain-based platforms and CBDC,” the chairman said.

While Ambani did not reveal much more about the payments business under JFS, we know that this will centre around Jio UPI and Jio Payments Bank, along with payments aggregator and payments gateway services.

Reliance is also reportedly testing a soundbox payment system which will be central to its plans to compete with payments apps. JFS’ payments business will directly take on a host of fintech companies in India — from PhonePe and Paytm to Google Pay and Amazon Pay, as well as the likes of CRED, WhatsApp Pay and others.

Despite launching UPI services in 2020, Jio has not made much dent in the market share so far. Jio’s app and the payments bank processed 1.34 Mn transactions in July 2023, with a total value of INR 114.12 Cr. Currently, Jio’s UPI services are available through the MyJio app as well as Jio Payments Bank portals. The company is likely to launch a dedicated app to push its payments services wider.

Jio’s payments volume pale in comparison to the likes of PhonePe, Google Pay and Paytm, the three largest UPI apps. For context, PhonePe processed 4743.66 Mn transactions in July 2023, with a total volume of over INR 7.6 Lakh Cr. So Jio has a long way to go before it can directly take on these UPI apps.

With 249 Mn+ Reliance Retail consumers, the JFS payment layer will allow Reliance to scale up rapidly and gives the company a goldmine of data to build features and allied services.

A Major Threat For Insurtech Players

On the insurance side, as speculated, Jio FInancial Services will launch products in the general insurance, health insurance, and life insurance space, partnering with global players, Ambani claimed. Ambani emphasised that the insurance platform will be digital in nature, but did not reveal much more about what consumers or businesses can expect.

As per recent reports, JFS is also planning to offer full-fledged insurance services starting 2024. Jio Financial is readying plans to approach the Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India (IRDAI) to apply for a licence.

The conglomerate has reportedly set aside a capital of INR 1,000 Cr for each of these insurance segments. Apart from traditional players such as Life Insurance Corporation of India (LIC), HDFC, ICICI Group and a host of other bank-led insurance plays, Jio Financial Services would also be rivalling digital-first insurance startups such as IPO-bound Go Digit, Acko, InsuranceDekho, and Navi Insurance, as well as aggregators (Policybazaar et al).

As per a report, the life insurance penetration in the country stood at a mere nearly 3% while non-life insurance penetration was much lower at 1% in financial year 2021-22 (FY22). The under-penetration of insurance offers an attractive proposition for Jio Financial Services, which could leverage Jio’s digital infrastructure, Reliance Retail’s business and partner network as well as Reliance’s healthcare plays to dominate the segment.

JFS To Eat Fintech Lending Pie?

The fintech sector is already besieged with high competition and low revenue potential in the payments segment and almost all players are only seeing revenue traction from lending operations.

Consumer durable lending, merchant lending, buy-now-pay-later (BNPL) are likely to be the key focus areas for JFS at the outset, according to a Bank Of America report. Consumer durable lending could be the initial focus for the company, as it has a captive user base that is availing credit for buying from Reliance Retail’s electronics store chain Reliance Digital.

On the other hand, BofA also stated that Jio Financial Services is likely to take time to scale up its lending play and doesn’t have the cheapest access to capital. However, the opportunity is undeniable. Beyond the top 10% merchants, not many are well-serviced by banks, digital lenders or traditional companies, which opens up a major opportunity for Jio Financial Services.

“We think there is a huge opportunity in wholesale lending to retailers/vendors, etc., as it is working capital heavy and many of these companies are cash flow constrained,” BofA said in its note in July about Jio Financial Services.

Will Jio Financial Services Go The M&A Route?

In the past, we have seen Reliance look to dominate new verticals with a mix of capital-led growth and inorganic acquisitions. The acquisitions of Urban Ladder, MilkBasket, Zivame, JustDial, NetMeds and other startups allowed Reliance Retail to grow rapidly in various verticals.

With the exception of some unicorns and listed giants, many startups are struggling with revenue growth and JFS could use its deep pockets to acquire some of these ailing startups.  Startups have faced regulatory headwinds, a funding winter (save for the likes of PhonePe) and Reliance’s mega entry will only deepen the wounds of the sector. Of course, these are still early days for JFS, but the threat to fintech startups cannot be understated.

The post Decoding Jio Financial Services: How Reliance Can Shake Up India’s Fintech Landscape appeared first on Inc42 Media.

Speaking at the 46th edition of the Reliance Annual General Meeting (AGM), group chairman Mukesh Ambani called for India to harness AI.

“A global AI revolution is reshaping the world around us. And sooner than we think, intelligent applications will redefine and revolutionise industries, economies and even our daily lives. To stay globally competitive, India must harness AI for innovation, growth and national prosperity,” said Ambani.

The Reliance Group chairman also said that the conglomerate has been busy augmenting its talent pool with capabilities in AI, especially generative AI. Adding to the conversation, Ambani said Jio Platforms wants to lead the effort in developing India-specific AI models and solutions, “thereby delivering the benefit of AI to Indian citizens, governments and businesses alike”.

“India has the data and the talent, but we also need AI-ready digital infrastructure that can handle artificial intelligence’s immense computational demands,” said Ambani, adding that Reliance stands committed to creating 2,000 megawatts (MW) of AI-ready computing capacity across both cloud and edge locations.

Ambani also added that Reliance Industries plans to shift most of its energy footprint in connectivity and digital services to green energy.

“Seven years ago, Jio promised broadband connectivity to everyone, everywhere. We have delivered. Today, we promise AI to everyone, everywhere and we shall deliver,” the RIL chairman added.

The post India Must Harness AI For Innovation, Growth & National Prosperity: Mukesh Ambani appeared first on Inc42 Media.

Reliance Industries Limited (RIL) on Monday said its board has recommended the appointment of Isha Ambani, Akash Ambani, and Anant Ambani as the non-executive directors of the company. Their appointment will take effect from the date they assume office after approval by the shareholders. 

Besides, the company also said that its board has accepted the resignation of Nita Ambani. Nita Ambani has tendered resignation as she wants to focus her time on the Reliance Foundation, the company said. 

However, she would continue to attend all the board meetings of RIL as a permanent invitee to the board as the chairperson of the Reliance Foundation. 

Isha, Akash and Anant Ambani have been managing key businesses of RIL over the last few years including retail, digital services and energy and materials businesses. 

While Isha is driving the expansion plans of Reliance Retail, Akash is the chairman of Reliance Jio Infocomm Limited. Anant Ambani is driving the expansion of energy and materials businesses of Reliance Industries.

All three also serve on the boards of the key subsidiaries of RIL. 

The post Nita Ambani Resigns From RIL’s Board; Isha, Akash, Anant Ambani Proposed As Non-Exec Directors appeared first on Inc42 Media.

Come Monday and all eyes and ears will turn to Reliance and the Ambani family, as the conglomerate’s annual general meeting will more or less give us a peek at what 2023 and 2024 might hold for India’s digital economy.

Reliance Retail and Jio Platforms have taken on a new dimension in the past 18 months, with forays into several new verticals. While Jio 4G catalysed the internet ecosystem and startups at large, the launch of 5G has coincided with Reliance’s biggest push into the digital economy. Of course, at this very moment, the full attention is on Jio Financial Services, which threatens to disrupt the fintech sector.

So much so that Reliance is essentially big tech now and for that reason alone, its moves will not just dictate the direction of the conglomerate but also could be game-changing for startups (not in a good way) and the digital economy.

We take a look at what the Reliance 2023 AGM is likely to have in store, but after these top stories from our newsroom:

• Spacetech’s Chandrayaan-3 Moment: What does ISRO’s historic Chandrayaan-3 success story mean for India’s spacetech ecosystem? Here’s what the overjoyed sector has to say
• Finally, 1st Unicorn Of 2023: Mumbai-based Zepto became India’s 111th unicorn and the first in nearly a year after raising $200 Mn in its Series E funding round at a $1.4 Bn valuation
• Move Over, IITs: Unicorn founders are no longer only hailing from IITs and IIMs and the rise of non-IIT talent shows that tech talent is going through democratisation

Reliance’s Big Day

In a matter of hours, Reliance chairman Mukesh Ambani, Reliance Jio chairman Akash Ambani and Reliance Retail head Isha Ambani will take the stage to reveal the big plan for the months to come. The AGM track record indicates that Reliance will announce new partnerships and the roadmap for key businesses.

For instance, in 2020, RIL proclaimed some major investments in its new energy business. It was also the year when RIL announced Google’s massive investment of $4.5 Bn in Jio Platforms. In 2021, Alphabet CEO Sundar Pichai made an appearance to announce a 4G-enabled smartphone called JioNext and Google Cloud’s partnership with Jio for 5G.

Of course, last year was all about 5G, the foray into the FMCG business and a bigger push into electronics manufacturing. What’s in store in 2023?

Jio Vs Fintech Startups

The biggest expectation from the AGM is around Jio Financial Services (JFS), which is definitely set to give fintech players some sleepless nights. So far, Jio’s telecom disruption has been lauded as a major catalyst for consumer and B2B fintech, but Jio is now stepping directly into the arena posing a threat to many startups.

JFS was demerged from RIL in July and listed earlier this month. JFS also tied up with the world’s largest asset manager BlackRock to take a bet on India’s $540 Bn mutual fund industry dominated by the likes of SBI, ICICI, and HDFC along with startups such as Zerodha, and Groww.

But Ambani is likely to lay down the plans for the B2B credit business, which is expected to come out first, followed by consumer lending. The big plan is to use lending as a funnel to venture into insurance, digital broking and asset management, pretty much like most other fintech startups.

In the past, Mukesh Ambani has said that the financial services play will leverage the technological capabilities that Reliance has built up since before its 4G launch.

Fintech analysts told Inc42 that JFS will be the biggest disruption in the fintech space because no other company can match the breadth and depth of services that Reliance has to rely on.

“Startups only have fintech, but Reliance has first-party data for retail transactions and ecommerce. It also has the data from its telecom business and now also first-party mobile devices. Plus it has the weight of Reliance behind the operations,” says the founder of a Bengaluru-based neobanking startup.

JFS has already had an impact on the competition, even without much depth of operations right now. Soon after the public listing, shares of fintech giant Paytm witnessed some weakness in between a rally.

So far, JFS has not had the best of starts in the share markets. The stock’s price rose on Friday last week, after hitting the lower circuit earlier for five sessions. It will be interesting to see how the market reacts to the big reveals.

For fintech startups, it will be a nervous watch, given that JFS can also lean on the twin pillars of Reliance Retail and Jio, which have also evolved quite a lot in the past year or so.

Reliance Retail IPO Incoming?

Another important story to watch out for during the AGM would be the timeline for the listing of Reliance Retail Ventures Limited (RRVL). It looks like the groundwork for the IPO is already laid as Qatar Investment Authority bought a 1% stake in RRVL for INR 8,278 Cr ($1 Bn) at a valuation of $100 Bn.

Reliance Retail is expected to sell up to 10% more stake in the run-up to the IPO to dilute the promoter stake. Experts believe that RRVL’s IPO size will be too big for the Indian stock markets at its current valuation of $100 Bn.

It will be interesting to see how Reliance Retail continues unlocking the value in the company as it looks to navigate the bearish market. The company operates an omnichannel retail and ecommerce network of more than 18,500 stores combined with ecommerce platforms for grocery, consumer electronics, fashion and lifestyle, and pharma segments.

Digital and new commerce businesses contributed 18% to the total revenue of Reliance Retail in Q1 FY24, with a net profit of INR 2,448 Cr. While the retail arm’s grocery business grew 59% year-on-year (YoY), its consumer brands vertical saw an 8X jump in revenue YoY.

With the fundraise, RRVL will go all-in on the consumer brands business and enter new product categories as it did in the past year with the ‘Independent’ brand.

The Rise Of JioCinema

As for Jio Platforms, the road to IPO is less certain. The company is likely to wait and give more attention to JFS and Reliance Retail, even as it deepens the 5G network.

Market observers believe that the biggest game changer could come in the form of Jio AirFiber, the company’s fixed wireless access device for retail consumers, where it is targeting an install base of 100 Mn homes. This is expected to bring Jio on par with Airtel and also boost the company’s ARPU, which has long suffered from slow growth as the telco prioritised scale over revenue.

The telecom market leader has also bet big on 5G mobile devices, with two smartphones said to be in the pipeline. The company is likely to bundle 5G at aggressive prices with these phones.

Eyes will also be on how Jio’s digital services and products have grown in the past year. We expect a lot of attention on JioCinema, which skyrocketed in popularity after the IPL deal earlier this year and the FIFA World Cup last year.

Since then, JioCinema has added the largest original slate in the Indian OTT space, outproducing the likes of Netflix, Amazon Prime and others. Besides making the IPL free, the platform is the official partner for HBO and NBCUniversal in India.

JioCinema’s parent company Viacom18 has roped in Google’s Kiran Mani as the CEO for the digital business according to reports, besides former Disney exec Kevin Vaz as CEO of TV and digital (regional entertainment). Another Disney alumni Alok Jain is overseeing regional content on digital platforms, with Anil Jayaraj, ex sales head of Star Sports, as CEO of the sports vertical.

The AGM is likely to highlight just how JioCinema has grown in the past eight months. Today, JioCinema charges INR 999 a year for the premium service and in the long run, the OTT business could become a big bulwark for Reliance’s sprawling media business.

Reliance As ‘Big Tech’

All in all, come Monday, a lot more will become clear about how Reliance plans to tackle the rest of FY24. It’s clear that after laying the foundation for the internet economy with the Jio telecom disruption, the company is now eyeing a bigger piece of the market.

For many startups, Reliance was the enabler, but now it’s a rival. Take the likes of Myntra or Nykaa in the beauty and fashion ecommerce space, or Tata-owned BigBasket and others from the JioMart POV.

Now, the time has come for fintech startups to brace for a rivalry with Reliance, and even the global streaming giants.

These are the times of Reliance as a Big Tech company and pretty much no other tech giant in the world has its hands in as many businesses as Reliance. Based on what we expect to see at the 2023 AGM, this reputation is only going to get stronger.

Startup Spotlight: Gen AI Startup Looks To Ease UI Development

Having seen the pains of UI development for early stage product and services startups, former Mindtickle executives Dipanjan Dey and Abhijit Bhole decided to leverage the power of generative AI to fix this major headache.

The duo want to change how frontend developers approach UI design with Kombai. Generative AI has opened up a whole range of new models, and the startup’s product is claimed to interpret visual design cues like humans and has the ability to write code accurately for frontend development.

Dey and Bhole set up Kombai in 2022 and since then it has been a 16-month journey to develop the right frameworks for the product’s generative AI model, from scratch. As the founders claimed, they wanted to ‘bring fun back to frontend development’.

Read The Kombai Story

Sunday Roundup: Startup Funding, Tech Stocks & More

• Funding Rebound? With Zepto’s massive $200 Mn unicorn round, the weekly startup funding saw an uptick — a total of $231 Mn was raised across 16 deals.
• Profit-Booking? SoftBank is looking to sell Zomato shares through block deals as the stock has seen a rally in recent weeks, and same is the case with AntFin, which is looking to sell 3.6% of its stake in Paytm

• Bengaluru & AI: Karnataka IT minister Priyank Kharge has claimed that Bengaluru has turned into a global AI hub thanks to the state’s investments and push for AI startups
• Bringing Unicorns Back Home: More than 20 out of 111 unicorns in India currently have their headquarters outside India. What will it take to bring these value-creators back home?
• D2C Summit Is Almost Here: Join Inc42’s D2C Summit later this week to network and learn from the likes of boAt’s Aman Gupta, Nykaa’s Adwaita Nayar; Curefoods’ Ankit Nagori, Miyntra’s Nandita Sinha and others

That’s all for this week. We will see you next Sunday with another weekly roundup, and till then, you can follow Inc42 on Instagram, X/Twitter and LinkedIn for the latest news as it happens.

The post Reliance‘s Grand Stage Is Set appeared first on Inc42 Media.

Qatar Investment Authority, through a wholly-owned subsidiary, is set to invest INR 8,278 Cr into Reliance Retail Ventures Limited (RRVL), the retail subsidiary of Reliance Industries Limited (RIL), at a pre-money equity value of INR 8.3 Lakh Cr.

RRVL operates an integrated omnichannel network of over 18,500 stores and digital commerce platforms through its subsidiaries and affiliates across categories like grocery, consumer electronics, fashion and lifestyle, and pharma. The RIL subsidiary has partnerships with over 3 Mn merchants through its new commerce initiative.

Reliance Retail owns brands such as AJIO, JioMart, Netmeds, Milkbasket and Trends. It also owns a minority stake in quick-commerce startup Dunzo.

Qatar Investment Authority’s investment will translate into a minority equity stake of 0.99% in RRVL on a fully-diluted basis, RIL said in a statement.

“We look forward to benefitting from QIA’s global experience and strong track record of value creation as we further develop Reliance Retail Ventures Limited into a world class institution, driving transformation of the Indian retail sector,” said Isha Mukesh Ambani, director of RRVL.

RRVL last raised an aggregate amount of INR 47,265 Cr in 2020 from various global investors at a pre-money equity value of INR 4.2 Lakh Cr.  

Reliance’s digital and new commerce businesses contributed 18% to the total revenue of Reliance Retail in Q1 FY24. The retail arm’s net profit stood at INR 2,448 Cr in Q1 and its operating revenue at INR 62,159 Cr.

While the retail arm’s grocery business grew 59% year-on-year (YoY), its consumer brands vertical saw an 8X jump in revenue YoY.

RRVL claims that it has digitised over 3 Mn small and unorganised merchants through its new commerce business.

Commenting on the investment, Mansoor Ebrahim Al-Mahmoud, CEO of Qatar Investment Authority, said it looks forward to RRVL joining its growing and diverse portfolio of investments in India, supported by the company’s impressive growth trajectory.

The retail arm of the Mukesh Ambani-led conglomerate is now looking to further galvanise the Indian retail sector through an inclusive strategy by empowering more micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) and also working closely with both global and domestic companies as preferred partners.

Earlier this year, fast fashion brand Shein reentered India in a partnership with RRVL.

RRVL also entered into the beauty and personal care (BPC) space in the country with the recent launch of its brand Tira, posing significant competition to Nykaa.

RRVL has also actively expanded its portfolio through multiple acquisitions, including V Retail and Insight Cosmetics, in the recent past. 

Brokerage Bernstein said in a recent research report that RRVL continues to be the best-positioned player in the Indian ecommerce market.

The post Reliance Gets INR 8,278 Cr Boost For Retail & Digital Commerce Business appeared first on Inc42 Media.

Continuing its strong performance, Flipkart delivered strong gross merchandise value (GMV) and sales growth in the second quarter of the financial year 2023-24 (FY24), Walmart’s chief financial officer John David Rainey said during the US-based retail giant’s earnings call. 

Without disclosing the numbers, Rainey said Flipkart remains focused on delivering continued contribution profit improvement while also expanding the ecosystem of its products and services like advertising, travel, and health care.

As per Walmart’s financial statement for Q2 FY24, its international business clocked net sales of $27 Bn in the quarter on a constant currency basis as against $24.4 Bn in the corresponding period of the previous fiscal. In Q1 FY24, the international business’ net sales stood at $26.8 Bn.

Walmart said that this strong growth in net sales in its international business was led by Flipkart and China’s Walmex.

“Flipkart’s consistent progress in performance reinforces our confidence in the long-term value of this business,” said Rainey, adding that Flipkart is the leading marketplace in India, which is currently leading the “largest digital transformation in the world”.

Last month, Walmart acquired Tiger Global Management’s stake in Flipkart for $1.4 Bn, giving the hedge fund an exit from the Indian ecommerce startup.

Earlier, Walmart said that Flipkart witnessed double-digit revenue growth in Q1 FY24. Recently, Rainey also stated that both Flipkart and PhonePe have the potential to become $100 Bn businesses in the future.

Speaking about PhonePe’s performance, Rainey said during the Q2 FY24 earnings call that the fintech major continued to impress with its strong and consistent performance. 

PhonePe’s annualised total payment volume (TPV) surpassed $1.15 Tn during the reported period. It also processed over 5 Bn transactions in a single month for the first time, said  Walmart.

PhonePe’s annualised TPV reached $1 Tn for the first time during April 2022-March 2023 period.

On the back of its growing business, PhonePe’s revenue crossed INR 1,600 Cr mark in FY22 while its loss stood at INR 2,013 Cr. PhonePe continues to be one of the top UPI transaction platforms.

The startup has started expanding its product line in the past few months. Recently, it also forayed into the merchant lending space to take on fintech giant Paytm.

Walmart’s consolidated revenue grew 5.4% year-on-year on a constant currency basis to $161.6 Bn in Q2 FY24.

The post Walmart Continues To Bet On Flipkart As Ecommerce Giant Delivers Another Strong Quarter In Q2 appeared first on Inc42 Media.

Reliance Industries Ltd (RIL) has issued a guarantee of INR 7,706 Cr to Samsung for the latter extending credit to its subsidiary Reliance Jio for supply of 5G equipment.

“Guarantee issued for Reliance Jio Infocomm Limited (RJIL), a subsidiary of the company – Letter of Guarantee executed by the company in favour of Samsung India Electronics Private Limited (SIEPL) in consideration of SIEPL extending credit for supply of LTE equipment or part thereof to RJIL,” RIL said in an exchange filing.

The guarantee issued by the company is a continuing guarantee until all obligations are fulfilled by RJIL, it added.

As per RIL’s annual report, Jio provided 5G services in over 2,300 cities and towns in the country as of March 31, 2023. The telecom operator aims to complete the pan-India rollout of 5G services by the end of 2023.

As per the annual report, Jio has also secured a $2.2 Bn support facility from Swedish Export Credit Agency (SKEN) to finance its 5G rollout in India. 

Earlier, it was reported that the telecom giant was in talks with some major global banks to raise $1 Bn – $1.5 Bn through offshore syndicated loans to buy 5G network gear from Sweden’s Ericsson.

As part of its 5G plans, Jio also announced acquisition of US-based telecom equipment manufacturer Mimosa Networks for $60 Mn in a debt free, cash free deal in March. 

Jio held 38.17% share in the Indian wireless market in May 2023, followed by Bharti Airtel (32.57%) and Vodafone Idea (20.20%). 

Jio’s total subscriber base rose 6.8% to 448.5 Mn at the end of June 2023 from 419.9 Mn a year ago. Its consolidated net profit rose 12.5% year-on-year to INR 5,098 Cr in the first quarter (Q1) of the financial year 2023-24 (FY24). 

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iPhone maker Apple will reportedly commence the production of AirPods at the Hyderabad facility of Taiwanese contract manufacturer Foxconn by the end of next year.

The Hyderabad plant is projected to initiate large-scale manufacturing by December 2024 with an approved investment of $400 Mn by Foxconn, news agency PTI reported.

The development comes days after Foxconn finalised an additional $400 Mn investment for Telangana.

“…FIT Singapore’s proposal to make a capital injection of US$ 400 Mn to Chang Yi Interconnect Technology (India) Private Limited, which is held by FIT Singapore as to 99.99 per cent of the capital stock,” noted parent FIT Hon Teng’s regulatory filings with the Hong Kong Stock Exchange on Friday (August 11).

AirPods are one of the bestselling true wireless stereo (TWS) earphones across the world. Per a recent report, Apple held more than a third of the global TWS market share during the last quarter of 2022.

Samsung held a market share of 7.5%, while Xiaomi claimed 4.4%, D2C unicorn boAt held 4% and Oppo had 3%. Incidentally, Xiaomi has also begun manufacturing its TWS devices in India at the Optiemus Electronics facility in Noida.

AirPods are among the several Apple products being manufactured in India. The Cupertino-based tech giant has been ramping up iPhone manufacturing in India, assembling the latest models at various facilities of its contract manufacturers. 

As of now, the tech giant is also looking to manufacture iPads in the country and potentially Macbooks in the future.

Apple’s iPhone export from India crossed the INR 10,000 Cr mark in May this year. The total value of the iPhone exports from India between April and May stood at INR 20,000 Cr, more than double the value during the same period last year.

The tech giant also reported record revenue in India in Q3 2023, with the company’s newly-opened retail stores in the country ‘exceeding expectations’. During a post-earnings call, Apple CEO Tim Cook said that while the company’s retail stores in India were not very old, they beat expectations. He also noted that the company was looking to invest more in India going ahead.

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Aditya Birla Group-owned Grasim Industries Limited on Thursday said that it has launched Birla Pivot, a full-scale B2B ecommerce platform for building materials. The platform competes with startups like Infra.Market and OfBusiness in the segment.

Birla Pivot will serve the markets in Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh, and Delhi. The platform will ensure on-time delivery and superior quality products, encompassing a range of building materials, including steel, tiles, cement, plywood and doors, paints and ply, and sanitary and plumbing. 

The company has also onboarded over 120 brands across various categories, it said.

The announcement came during Grasim Industries Q1 FY24 earnings announcement. The conglomerate had said last year that it would launch such a platform and invest about INR 2,000 Cr in it over the next five years. 

“The building materials segment presents a huge scalable business opportunity with a proven path to profitability,” Aditya Birla Group’s chairman Kumar Mangalam Birla had then said.

Aditya Birla Group is already the largest cement producer in the country, through its subsidiary Ultratech Cement. It has also forayed into the paints business.

Today, Aditya Birla’s Ultratech Cement reported a 17% year-on-year (YoY) rise in consolidated revenue to INR 17,737 Cr in Q1 FY24. Meanwhile, the conglomerate said that the progress on ‘Go to Market’, branding and marketing for its paints business is on track with its scheduled commercial launch set for Q4 FY24.

Grasim Industries’ consolidated revenue rose 11% YoY but declined 7% sequentially to INR 31,065 Cr with a profit after tax (PAT) of INR 1,576 Cr.

One of the current leading players in the B2B construction ecommerce market, Infra.Markets’ net profit stood at INR 185.9 Cr in FY22 against total revenue of INR 6,285 Cr.

According to a recent report, the unicorn is in advanced-level talks to raise about $150 Mn from US-based Varde Partners.

Meanwhile, the global business-to-business ecommerce market size, valued at $7,907.07 Bn in 2022, is projected to grow at a CAGR of 20.2% from 2023 to 2030.

The post Aditya Birla Group Launches New B2B Ecommerce Venture To Take On Infra.Market, OfBusiness appeared first on Inc42 Media.

Ecommerce major Flipkart’s parent entity Walmart India has moved the Delhi bench of the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) to seek a reduction of share capital.

Reduction of share capital allows a company to adjust (or eliminate) accumulated losses or change the capital structure of a company. 

While hearing the case on Wednesday (August 9), the NCLT directed Walmart India to submit supporting judgements from higher courts to strengthen its arguments. Meanwhile, the tribunal has adjourned the matter to next week.

According to Moneycontrol, Walmart India has moved the tribunal to offset accumulated losses against the share premium received from existing shareholders. The ecommerce major, in its plea, cited Sections 66 and 52 of the Companies Act, 2013 to undertake the move. 

Flipkart, in a statement, said, “In compliance with the Companies Act, 2013 and with the consent of the Company’s Board and shareholders, Walmart India has proposed to undertake the reduction of share capital. The reduction of share capital essentially entails the set-off of our accumulated losses with securities premium and does not have any impact on creditors and shareholders of the company, nor does it impact the value of the shares.”

Section 52 empowers a company, issuing shares at a premium, to transfer a sum equivalent to the premium to a ‘securities premium account’ to provision for the future reduction of share capital. On the other hand, Section 66 allows a company to reduce its share capital with the explicit permission of the tribunal. 

Flipkart, as per the report, reiterated that the reduction would be subject to the NCLT approval, adding that the company was ‘confident’ of honouring its commitments, meeting its liabilities, and fulfilling both present and future fund needs. 

If the NCLT concurs with the plea, it will notify the Registrar of Companies (RoC) and the central government to pave the way for capital reduction. 

While it was not immediately clear what has led to the move, it has come at a time when Flipkart has been raking up heavy losses. The company’s marketplace arm saw its standalone net loss zoom 1.5X to INR 4,361 Cr in FY22 against a loss of INR 2,881.3 Cr in the year-ago period. 

The post Flipkart Parent Walmart India Moves NCLT To Seek Share Capital Reduction appeared first on Inc42 Media.

As the electric vehicle (EV) manufacturer Tesla prepares for an India launch, the US-based company has appointed Indian-origin Vaibhav Taneja, formerly the chief accounting officer at Tesla, as the chief financial officer (CFO). 

Taneja will handle both responsibilities at the same time, replacing Zachary Kirkhorn who is leaving the company after a 13-year stint. While the Elon Musk-led tech giant has not specified a reason for the departure, Kirkhorn will continue in his role until the end of the year.

“Being a part of this company is a special experience and I’m extremely proud of the work we’ve done together since I joined over 13 years ago,” said Kirkhorn in a LinkedIn post.

While the EV giant has appointed Indians to top positions before – Deepak Ahuja was Tesla’s CFO for nearly a decade across two stints – the timing of Vaibhav Taneja’s appointment is particularly interesting, as Tesla looks to gear up for a launch in India.

Who Is Vaibhav Taneja?

Vaibhav Taneja is a commerce graduate from the University of Delhi and a Chartered Accountant (CA) by training. He first joined Tesla following the EV giant’s acquisition of SolarCity in 2016, having worked with the clean energy company as VP of accounting operations and corporate controller.

Before Tesla, Taneja made a name for himself, spending 17 years at PriceWaterhouseCoopers since joining in 1996. The incumbent Tesla CFO has more than two decades of experience working in accounting with various multinational companies in tech, finance, retail and telecom.

Vaibhav Taneja is also spearheading Tesla’s entry into the Indian market. In January 2021, Taneja was appointed as the director for Tesla’s Indian arm, Tesla India Motors and Energy Private Limited.

The appointment comes at a time when Tesla is aiming to boost its sales and capture more market share. The auto major even reduced the prices of its cars following that aim which squeezed its industry-leading margins, as per a report by the news agency Reuters.

Tesla’s India Bid

Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal recently met senior US-based Tesla executives last week in a closed-door meeting to discuss the carmaker’s plans to establish a manufacturing plant in the country, Reuters reported citing two people with direct knowledge of the matter.

Tesla has expressed an interest in building a manufacturing facility in India that would produce a low-cost EV priced at $24,000 (around INR 20 Lakhs), nearly 25% cheaper than Tesla’s current entry model, for both the Indian market and export.

The carmaker’s senior officials have been meeting government officials since May. Later in July, Tesla’s senior public policy and business development executive Rohan Patel and a vice president for supply chain, Roshan Thomas, also met officials from Invest India.

Their meeting with Goyal was the most high-profile one since Elon Musk met Prime Minister Narendra Modi in June in New York.

The post Everything You Need To Know About Tesla’s New Indian-Origin CFO Vaibhav Taneja appeared first on Inc42 Media.

A day after the Centre decided to impose restrictions on import of laptops, tablets, and personal computers with immediate effect, Minister of State (MoS) for Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) Rajeev Chandrasekhar said that there would be a transition period for the provision to come into effect.

“There will be a transition period for this to be put into effect which will be notified soon,” Chandrasekhar said on Twitter. 

The clarification came after confusion erupted over the deadline for the implementation of the new regime. 

A government official told Reuters earlier in the day that industry players had sought extension of the deadline by three to six months.

“Industry has sought a three to six month transition period. We are examining the suggestions made by the industry and may soon issue an additional notice with clarifications if needed,” Reuters reported citing a source.

As per the report, the government will allow imports of laptops and tablets without licences for shipments ordered prior to August 3. The Centre has also directed the customs department to clear ‘some consignments’ stuck at the ports owing to confusion around the new order, as per sources.

In a tweet earlier in the day, the MoS, citing the rationale for the restriction, said that the move is aimed at reducing import dependence and spur domestic manufacturing of laptops and personal computers. 

The move was also driven by security concerns so as to ensure that only trusted hardware and computer systems enter the country. 

Chandrasekhar also refuted claims that the move was emblematic of ‘License Raj’, saying that the licence mandates are aimed at regulating imports to ensure the homegrown tech ecosystem uses trusted and verified systems only.

Meanwhile, the Directorate General of Foreign Trade (DGFT) has already operationalised a portal to streamline the process of licence registration for companies. IT secretary, as per Livemint, said that licence will be dished out in under 5 minutes and will be valid for one year.

According to the official, two companies have already applied for import licences. He also said that one company can apply for multiple licences and clarified that there is no ‘ban’. 

The secretary also said that the government’s move wouldn’t impact goods in transit and the prices of such goods would not rise. 

Meanwhile, Apple, Samsung and HP reportedly freezed new imports of laptops and tablets to India after the order. While laptop makers were already anticipating announcements curbing imports, the sudden announcement was said to have caught most original equipment manufacturers by surprise. 

Amid all this, tech firms have now made a beeline for the central government to understand how to quickly obtain licences at a time when Diwali shopping season is just round the corner.

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Tech giant Apple said it reported record revenue in India in the quarter ended July 1, 2023 (Q3), with the company’s newly-opened retail stores in the country exceeding expectations.

Speaking in a post-earnings call, Apple CEO Tim Cook said that while the company’s retail stores in India are not very old, they beat the expectations. He said the company would invest more in India going ahead.

However, he also noted that the share of Apple in the Indian market is low and this provides a big opportunity for the company. “We still have a very, very modest and low share in this smartphone market, so I think it’s a huge opportunity for us. And we are putting in all of our energies to make that occur,” Cook said. 

Overall, Apple posted a 1% year-on-year decline in its revenue during the quarter at $81.8 Bn. 

Apple launched its first retail store in India in April this year, which was immediately followed by the launch of a store in Delhi.

India has emerged as an important market for India. While Apple sees a big market opportunity in India due to its low market share in one of the biggest phone markets in the world, India is also gaining importance as a manufacturing base for the company.

Days after the launch of its stores in the country, it was reported that Apple iPhone exports from India crossed INR 10,000 Cr mark. 

The company is looking to increase its revenue in India by focusing on its retail stores.

It also plans to launch two more retail stores by 2026 in the country.

The post Apple Posts Record Revenue In India In Q3 As Retail Stores Drive Growth appeared first on Inc42 Media.

Union Minister of Commerce and Industry Piyush Goyal reportedly met senior Tesla executives last week in a closed-door meeting to discuss the carmaker’s plans to establish a manufacturing plant in the country.

The meeting took place days after it was widely reported that such a meeting was on the cards.

Tesla’s senior public policy and business development executive Rohan Patel and a vice president for supply chain, Roshan Thomas, met the minister and officials from Invest India during their time in the country, Reuters reported citing two people aware of the matter.

The meeting with Goyal was held in a New Delhi hotel. The Tesla executives met the minister privately, along with at least one other government official, as per the report. Meetings between Tesla and Indian officials are being kept tightly under wraps, with the government closely tracking the progress of talks, the report said.

The meeting of Tesla executives with Goyal was the most high-profile since Tesla CEO Elon Musk met Prime Minister Narendra Modi in June in New York City. Following the meeting, the billionaire CEO of Tesla and SpaceX had said he was keen to make investments in India, breaking years of impasse between the carmaker and the country over import duties.

Tesla has expressed interest in building a factory in India that would produce a low-cost electric vehicle (EV) priced at around $24,000 (INR 19.87 Lakhs), around 25% cheaper than Tesla’s current entry model for both the Indian market and export.

Goyal also met Tesla on July 24, with an agenda covering land allotment for its proposed plant and the establishment of an EV supply chain. The parties discussed the company’s plans during the meeting, however, no details regarding the discussions were disclosed officially.

Tesla is working overtime on its plans to enter India, with multiple meetings taking place between the government and the carmaker’s executives since mid-May. Earlier this week, it was also reported that the carmaker has leased office space in Pune.

Tesla has leased an office spread over a 5,850 sq ft. area on the first floor of Panchsil Business Park in Viman Nagar, Pune.

Tesla also wants to bring some of its Chinese vendors to India but has been asked by Indian officials to copy Apple’s playbook in the country and ask its Chinese suppliers to set up joint ventures with Indian partners to get clearance.

The post Tesla Executives Meet Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal, Discuss Manufacturing Plans appeared first on Inc42 Media.

Update | August 11, 01:00 AM

After suddenly disappearing from Google’s India Play Store, Mi Music has returned back to the app marketplace. The company said that the app was indeed unavailable from the Play Store but blamed the issue on a ‘technical problem.’

“Due to some technical issues, Mi Music was unavailable in Play Store for a short period of time. Xiaomi has quickly solved the technical problem and restored Mi Music in Play Store. Users can download Mi Music freely now and enjoy the excellent music experience brought by Xiaomi and our local partner,” said a Xiaomi spokesperson.

Original Story| August 4 , 06:00 AM

Continuing its app shutdown spree in India, Chinese smartphone giant Xiaomi has reportedly delisted its music streaming app, Mi Music, from the Google Play Store in India. 

The development was first reported by Techcrunch. 

Attempts to access the webpage of Mi Music on the Play Store yielded no results. Users were routed to a site that displayed the message ‘We’re sorry, the requested URL was not found on this server’ while trying to access the download page. 

An archived download page of the app dating back to June 2, 2023, noted that the app had more than 1 Bn downloads and 2.33 Mn reviews at the time. Curiously, the app is still listed on Xiaomi’s app marketplace GetApps.

Inc42 has reached out to Xiaomi for a comment. The story will be updated accordingly. 

Launched in 2018 by Xiaomi, Mi Music enabled users to stream music directly on their phones. The service was launched in partnership with homegrown entertainment company Hungama, in which the Chinese smartphone maker invested back in 2016. 

The app came pre-installed on Xiaomi phones and allowed customers to access music in more than 15 vernacular languages. 

Mi Music appears to have become the latest casualty of a series of app shutdowns by Xiaomi in the country in the past one year. In October, Xiaomi pulled down its digital payment app Mi Pay and digital lending app Mi Credit from Play Store India. In February this year, the Chinese tech giant pulled the plug on its short-video platform Zili in India. 

Last year, Inc42 also reported that Xiaomi was looking to divest its stakes in Indian companies and exit the country’s startup ecosystem altogether. 

At the heart of these developments have been ongoing geopolitical tensions between India and China ever since the forces of the two countries clashed in Galwan. Following this, Indian authorities tightened the noose around Chinese companies operating in India. 

While the Centre has undertaken multiple rounds of bans on Chinese apps since 2020, apps connected to Xiaomi, including its browser, video call and community app have also faced the brunt of local authorities. 

The development also comes at a time when Xiaomi has come under the scanner of Indian officials for alleged tax evasion and illegal remittances. Not just this, Enforcement Directorate (ED) has raided the offices of the company while long-time executive Manu Kumar Jain also left the company earlier this year. 

The operations of the company have also suffered as the once reigning champion in the Indian smartphone space has now slipped to the third position in the smartphone market in India. Making matters worse has been layoffs at the company which have impacted employees at its local subsidiary as well. 

The post [Update] Xiaomi’s Mi Music Returns Back To Play Store After Sudden Disappearance appeared first on Inc42 Media.