Bangalore, July 29
India’s largest e-Commerce firm Flipkart today said it has raised $1 billion (over Rs 6,000 crore) in fresh funding from a group of investors, the largest so far in the fiercely competitive online shopping segment in the country.

The company did not disclose its new holding pattern. The sources said, however, said with this round of fund raising, Flipkart is valued at about $7 billion (around Rs 42,000 crore).

Co-led by existing investors Tiger Global Management and Naspers, Singapore’s sovereign wealth fund, GIC, Accel Partners, DST Global, ICONIQ Capital, Morgan Stanley Investment Management and Sofina also participated in this latest financing round.

“We believe the internet will improve the quality of life for millions of Indians, and e-commerce is going to play a huge role in this change. The focus at Flipkart is to continue to make shopping online simpler and more accessible through the use
of technology,” Flipkart’s founder Sachin Bansal and Binnu Bansal said.

“We have close to 22 million registered users today. We handle 5 million shipments a month. These numbers were unheard of a few years ago and we are excited about the scale we have managed to achieve. But what is even more exciting is the huge opportunity that we still see before us”, they added.

“India has 243 million internet users – and this number continues to grow fast. We want to enable every Indian to either shop or sell online. And we believe that the power of the mobile internet is going to help us achieve this goal”, the Bansals said.

The company will utilise funds on expanding its online and mobile services, focusing on areas like R&D, enhancing customer experience and seller base.

Flush with cash, Flipkart is also scouting for acquisitions, which can help it expand into newer technologies like wearables and robotics, a move that it believes will impact mobile commerce in the days to come.

“The funds will be used to make long-term strategic investments in India, especially in mobile technology,” Flipkart co-founder and CEO Sachin Bansal said.

“This funding will enable us to step up our investments for innovations in products and technologies, setting us up to become the mobile e-commerce company of the future. This funding will help us further accelerate momentum and build our presence to become a technology powerhouse,” he said.

On the company’s IPO plans, Bansal said: “IPO is not in consideration at all, we are not thinking about it. We have not settled on a business model that we can take public.” In May, Flipkart had raised $210 million funding, bringing private equity firm DST Global on board as an investor.

It is estimated that the firm has, so far, raised over $1.7 billion from investors, including the current transaction. The home-grown e-retailer had acquired online fashion retailer Myntra in May in what is estimated to be a Rs 2,000-crore deal.

It had also announced an investment of $100 million (around Rs 600 crore) in its fashion business over the next 12-18 months. 

This funding will enable us to step up our investments for innovations in products and technologies, setting us up to become the mobile e-commerce company of the future. It will help us further accelerate momentum and build our presence to become a technology powerhouse —Sachin Bansal, flipkart ceo

Chandigarh, July 29
Global forex remittance major UAE Exchange is set to venture into commercial banking in the country. The company is hopeful of getting a universal banking licence from RBI soon.

The company plans to focus on the rural and under-banked areas. Though the issuance of new banking licences was delayed last year, the company says it is ready to open small banks in case the universal banking licence gets further delayed.

V George Antony, managing director, UAE Exchange, said if the company were to go in for opening small banks, it would start with Bihar. “We have a strong network in Bihar and we see a huge scope for financial inclusion there, as it is a relatively under-banked state,” he said. He said, “UAE Exchange with its business verticals of remittances, advancing loans, foreign exchange business and travel, and status of serving over one lakh people a day, has all the pre-requisites of starting a commercial bank. We are just one step short of being a bank.”

UAE Exchange gets 37% of its revenue each from foreign exchange and advancing loans to business, 12% from travel business and 10% from remittance business. The company has a turnover of Rs 4,000 crore per annum (India operations) and this year, it plans to open 50 new branches. Antony says the new branches will be engaged in all verticals of the company’s business. At least seven of these branches will be opened in Punjab, which continues to be the second largest market for the company in India (after Kerala).

The company will also launch two new state-of-the-art financial instruments this year. A new travel card, loaded with eight major foreign currencies, will be launched next month. In six months, the company will launch a pre-paid card that can be used for domestic money transfer and online payments.

New Delhi, July 29
A study by Exim Bank has suggested that the government can play a proactive role in encouraging cross-border investments from India by drawing up an enabling policy environment.

In this context, the study has drawn out a few suggestions like creating an institutional mechanism in the form of an Overseas Investment Promotion Council for promotion of overseas direct investment (ODI), earmarking separate funds for promoting cross-border investments and aligning bilateral investment treaties from the perspective of both inward and outward FDI.

India’s outward overseas direct investments (ODI) have undergone a considerable change not only in terms of magnitude but also in terms of geographical spread and sectoral composition, says the study.

The study identified that the future growth of Indian companies will be influenced by the share that they can garner in the world market, not only by producing in the country and exporting, but also by acquiring overseas assets, including intangibles like brands and goodwill, to establish overseas presence and to upgrade their competitive strength in the overseas markets.

RBI data indicates that a significant amount of this investment has been going to countries like Mauritius, Singapore, British Virgin Islands and the Netherlands. The study notes that while in themselves, these countries are neither large enough nor do they have significant domestic markets to warrant the amount of investments witnessed over the years by Indian entities, they do provide considerable amount of tax benefits which make them attractive destinations for onward routing of investments into third countries. In the past one decade, India’s outward investment increased from $1 billion in 2001-02 to $30.9 billion in 2011-12.

In terms of sectoral dispersion, the study points out that it has primarily been the manufacturing sector that has been the favoured choice for Indian ODI , across most of the last decade, although its significance has gradually been waning. Thus, while the share of manufacturing sector in India’s ODI was 59.8% in 2003-04, its share declined to 31.5% in 2011-12.

The study has also undertaken a primary research on the motives of India ODI which indicates varied objectives, ranging from low labour cost advantages in the host country and saturation of the Indian market to the need to enhance their export competitiveness in third country markets and to exploit the domestic market potential in other countries.

New Delhi, July 29
Tightening the regulatory noose around wilful defaulters of bank loans, the RBI has suggested to SEBI that such entities should be prevented from raising funds through capital markets.

To facilitate such restrictions on entities found to have ‘wilfully’ defaulted on bank loans, the RBI is exploring ways to share details of these defaulters with SEBI on a real-time basis, sources said.

Subsequently, these defaulters can be barred from raising funds through capital markets, as also through issuance of securities or other avenues under the jurisdiction of the SEBI.

The matter is yet to be discussed by SEBI internally and a final decision can be taken only after taking into account the provisions in various sets of existing regulations and the views of all stakeholders, a senior official said. — PTI

New Delhi, July 29
Airtel’s net profit grew 60.9 in the first quarter ended June 30 to Rs 1,108 crore compared to Rs 689 crore in the corresponding quarter last year as a result of growth in mobile data, improved realisation in voice services and lower finance costs.

The growth comes on top of 73.9% growth in mobile data revenue at Rs 2,204 crore. The company’s Africa operations, however, continued to take a toll on its overall profitability as the company continues to register losses in the first quarter ended June 30. — TNS

Washington, July 29
US Secretary of State John Kerry has praised Indian automobile giant ‘Tata’ for creating thousands of jobs in the United States.

“Take a look at the jobs that Tata is creating for Americans by expanding auto design and sales in the US, adding to its 24,000 employees already in this country,” Kerry said yesterday in a major foreign policy speech on India at the Center for American Progress, a US think-tank.

“Already, Indian investment creates close to 100,000 jobs right here at home,” Kerry said referring to the jobs being created in the US by Indian companies.

As the largest India-headquartered multinational in North America, Tata has 12 companies covering diverse operations. — PTI

BRIEFLY

Open offers hit 1-year high at ~12,549 cr in June
New Delhi: The overall worth of open offers for public shareholders hit a one-year high of Rs 12,549 crore in June, almost entirely on account of a mega offer by global liquor giant Diageo Plc to acquire stake in United Spirits. As per SEBI’s latest monthly report, the market regulator approved a total of 8 open offers for shares worth Rs 12,549 crore in June, 2014. — PTI

Gold, silver fall on sluggish demand, global cues
New Delhi: Snapping its two-day gaining streak, gold prices declined by Rs 20 to Rs 28,350 per 10 gram in the national capital on Tuesday owing to slackened demand at existing levels amid a weak global trend. Silver also lacked necessary buying support from industrial units and eased by Rs 400 at Rs 44,400 per kg. — PTI

New Jaguar XE sedan to make global debut in Sept
New Delhi: Tata Motors-owned Jaguar Land Rover will hold the global premiere of the new Jaguar XE luxury sedan in London on September 8 with which it is looking to bring new levels of aluminium-intensive lightweight construction expertise to the segment. The Jaguar XE will use a new grade of high strength aluminium called ‘RC 5754’, which has been developed specifically for the XE, the company said. — PTI

Apple slashes Mac Book Pro price by Rs 11,000
New Delhi: Tech giant Apple on Tuesday reduced the price of its 13-inch non-Retina MacBook Pro by Rs 11,000 to Rs 78,900. The California-headquartered firm also updated MacBook Pro with Retina display with faster processors, doubled the memory in both its entry-level configurations. — PTI

Tata group revenue up 18.5% at Rs 6,24,757 cr
New Delhi: Diversified conglomerate Tata group’s total revenue grew by 18.5% in 2013-14 at Rs Rs 6,24,757 crore. The group that has over 100 operating companies in seven business sectors had posted total revenue of Rs 5,27,047 crore in the previous fiscal. — PTI