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Tag: india

  • Alibaba seeks approval to buy stake in India’s BigBasket

    Alibaba seeks approval to buy stake in India’s BigBasket

    Chinese internet giant Alibaba is seeking Competition Commission of India (CCI) approval to acquire a stake in online grocery startup BigBasket.

    Financial details have not been disclosed in the CCI filing, which relates to “the acquisition and purchase of shares” of BigBasket parent Supermarket Grocery Supplies by Alibaba Singapore.

    Alibaba Group Holding and its Indian associate PayTM E-Commerce were reported in July as having a 60-day exclusive pact with BigBasket. There were also reports of BigBasket being in merger talks with rival Grofers.

    BigBasket has a presence in Bengaluru, Hyderabad, Pune, Mumbai, Chennai, Delhi-NCR, Kolkata, Jaipur, Punjab and Lucknow as well as four other cities, and has raised more than $200 million from investors.

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  • AirAsia India Offers Flight Tickets At Base Fare Of Rs. 99 In Big Sale

    AirAsia India Offers Flight Tickets At Base Fare Of Rs. 99 In Big Sale

    AirAsia India is offering domestic flights at a starting base fare of Rs. 99. AirAsia India’s Rs. 99 fare excludes taxes and other charges, the airline said on its website – airasia.com. The offer of a starting fare of Rs. 99 is part of a limited-period promotional scheme which requires flyers to make advance bookings. Called ‘Big Sale’, the promotional scheme is valid on bookings for travel from May 7, 2018 to January 31, 2019, according to the AirAsia website. Bookings under the AirAsia Big Sale are open till November 19, 2017, it noted.
    Here are 10 things to know about AirAsia’s Big Sale offer:
    airasia big sale airasia website
    (AirAsia said the ‘Big Sale’ is valid on bookings for travel from May 7, 2018 to January 31, 2019)

    1. The fares offered under the Big Sale scheme are quoted for single journey (one-way) only, AirAsia said.

    2. The fares offered under the Big Sale scheme are only available for online bookings at the airline’s website – www.airasia.com, it noted.

    3. AirAsia India is offering all-inclusive fares starting at Rs. 403 under the Big Sale offer. A search on the AirAsia bookings portal showed tickets for flights from Bhubaneswar to Ranchi in mid-May next year were available for booking at Rs. 403. The ticket price of Rs. 403 included fares of Rs. 99, a surcharge of Rs. 52 and GST (Goods and Services Tax) of Rs. 8, according to the airline’s website.
    airasia big sale airasia website
    (Tickets priced at Rs. 403 include fares of Rs. 99, according to the AirAsia bookings portal)

    4. Some other starting all-inclusive prices included flights from Ranchi to Bhubaneswar at Rs. 466; from Bhubaneswar to Kolkata at Rs. 507; from Ranchi to Kolkata at Rs. 571, and from Kochi to Bengaluru at Rs. 764, according to the airline’s website. Some other flight tickets offered just above Rs. 1,000 include Kolkata-Ranchi (Rs. 1,001), Kolkata-Bhubaneswar (Rs. 1,001), Goa-Bengaluru (Rs. 1,087), Guwahati-Imphal (Rs. 1,096) and Hyderabad-Bengaluru (Rs. 1,061).

    5. The fare includes airport taxes (except for selected airports where airport tax is collected at the point of departure), AirAsia said. “A non-refundable processing fee is applicable for payments via credit, debit or charge card,” AirAsia added.

    6. Without divulging the number of seats offered under the Big Sale offer, AirAsia said: “Seats are limited and may not be available on all flights.”

    7. AirAsia further said the offer was valid for new purchases only and fares are not available during embargo period.

    8. “All taxes must be paid at the time of purchase unless otherwise stated,” AirAsia said. “Full payment shall be made upon booking,” it added.

    9. The airline also said the offer is subject to availability “and AirAsia’s Terms and Conditions of Carriage”. Under the Big Sale scheme, AirAsia said, no refunds are permitted after a payment has been made.

    10. Change of flight dates will be chargeable. “Changes to flights and dates are permitted subject to change fees… Changes to name are not permitted,” AirAsia India said.

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  • India is next plan for PayPal

    India is next plan for PayPal

    Global technology platform and digital payments company PayPal Holdings has launched in India.

    This enables Indian consumers to use PayPal to shop online. Merchants offering PayPal will be able to process both local and global payments, gaining access to the brand’s more than 218 million customers across 200 global markets.

    Offering cross-border payments in India for nearly a decade, PayPal has now rolled out secure transactions and such benefits as One Touch, Buyer and Seller Protection and Refunded Return Shipping.

    India has all the ingredients to become a true digital economy, says PayPal Private CEO Rohan Mahadevan.

    “India is transitioning away from our biggest competitor, cash, and our digital platform and technology has immense scope to enable this at scale,” says PayPal India MD Anupam Pajuja. “For us, the marathon has just begun.”

    PayPal has set up a customer service centre in India with multilingual support and on-ground sales team.

    As digital payments become more mainstream in India, PayPal is partnering with government and state-owned banks on such initiatives as a digital financial literacy program and an eTourist visa.

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  • Dachser Chennai on the move

    Dachser Chennai on the move

    Dachser India has moved its Chennai branch to a new location to facilitate the company’s prospects for growth and development. The new premises are centrally located in the modern KRM Plaza, and offers easy connectivity by road, rail and air travel.

    Dachser India has moved its Chennai branch to a new location to facilitate the company’s prospects for growth and development.

    “The new office is designed to provide a pleasant and comfortable workplace for our Chennai team and is easily accessible for our customers,” said Sivagurunathan B, deputy general manager India South Air & Sea Logistics.

    “This new office provides a perfect environment for our teams to serve our customers better. Markets in South India, especially Chennai and other cities in Tamil Nadu, have always contributed significantly to Dachser’s success in India. We expect very strong growth from this market in the years to come,” added Huned Gandhi, managing director Air & Sea Logistics India

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  • RCom to stop offering 2G voice in eight circles

    RCom to stop offering 2G voice in eight circles

    Struggling Indian operator Reliance Communications will stop offering 2G voice services in eight circles from December as a cost saving measure.

    Telecoms regulator Trai has issued a direction stating that RCom plans to discontinue 2G GSM services in eight telecoms circles after the closure of the merger between RCom and Sistema Shyam Teleservices (SSTL), providing only 4G data services.

    RCom also plans to use the merger to upgrade its network from CDMA to LTE using the 800-MHz band in nine circles including Delhi.

    Trai has requested that all operator honor any porting requests from existing RCom customers and directed RCom not to deny any such requests from its own subscribers until the end of the year.

    RCom has been reconsidering its operations after failing to clinch a proposed merger with Aircel due to regulatory uncertainty and the objections of some creditors.

    The operator is grappling with debt of around 450 billion rupees ($6.95 billion) and had been hoping that the merger could help it reduce this burden.

    The RCom-SSTL share swap merger by contrast was approved last month. RCom will acquire around 2 million new customers, as well as 30 MHz of 800-MHz spectrum in eight of India’s 22 telecoms circles including Delhi.

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  • Two new floors for Onitsuka Tiger Shinjuku

    Two new floors for Onitsuka Tiger Shinjuku

    Onitsuka Tiger Shinjuku store will open on Friday with an interior design that fuses traditional and futuristic along with eastern and western worlds, reflecting the sports fashion brand’s design philosophy.

    Its black-toned exterior makes its simple white name sign and gold logo stand out, while the entrance is framed with a subtle black and grey weave pattern.

    Staple items and the Nippon Made series are displayed on the ground floor, with clothing and accessories upstairs. The store is close to the NeWoMan shopping complex, Takashimaya Department Store and Japanese lifestyle store Tokyu Hands.

    To celebrate its opening, Onitsuka Tiger Shinjuku will offer a special on its white-and-blue California 78 Vin model. The retro design, based on shoes made when Japan was in the midst of a jogging boom, features tricolour stripes and reflective heels.

    Onitsuka Tiger India last month opened its first monobrand store, in Mumbai’s Palladium Mall.

  • RCom cleared to merge with SSTL

    RCom cleared to merge with SSTL

    India’s Reliance Communications (RCom) has secured approval from the Department of Telecom to merge with Sistema Shyam Teleservices (SSTL), operator of the MTS India brand.

    The telecoms ministry has granted final approval for the share swap deal.

    Under the terms of the merger agreement, SSTL shareholders will receive a 10% stake in RCom. RCom will meanwhile take on SSTL’s spectrum installment payment obligations, which amount to 3.9 billion rupees ($59.9 million) per year for eight years.

    RCom will in return acquire around 2 million new customers, as well as 30 MHz of 800-MHz spectrum in eight of India’s 22 telecoms circles including Delhi.

    The operator projects that the merger will contribute additional annual revenue of around 7 billion rupees. RCom reported total revenue of 35.9 billion rupees for the year ending in June, down 33% year-on-year.

    RCom had also been pursuing a merger with Aircel as part of the wave of consolidation sweeping India’s mobile market, but this deal collapsed recently due to regulatory uncertainty and opposition from some of the operator’s creditors. The operator is seeking to reduce its roughly $6.8 billion in debt by around $3 billion, and may pursue an asset fire sale to achieve this goal.

  • Airtel-Tata Teleservices merger good for the industry

    Airtel-Tata Teleservices merger good for the industry

    The planned merger between Bharti Airtel and Tata Teleservices’ consumer mobile business is a positive for both the deal participants and the industry as a whole, according to Fitch Ratings.

    Airtel announced last week that it plans to absorb Tata Teleservices’ consumer mobile business as well as its spectrum assets in the 850-MHz, 1800-MHz and 2100-MHz bands.

    Because the merger is being conducted on a cash and debt free basis, with Airtel only required to take on certain additional spectrum expenses, the deal is expected to slightly improve Airtel’s credit profile, Fitch Ratings said.

    It is also expected to help arrest the decline in Airtel’s ebitda and bolster its 4G network position.

    “Bharti will gain about 178.5 MHz of spectrum in the 850-MHz, 1800-MHz and 2100-MHz bands in 17 Indian telecom coverage areas, the right to use Tata Telecom’s extensive fiber network and 42 million subscribers that will add to its existing Indian subscriber base of 281 million,” Fitch Ratings said in a research note.

    “We estimate the consumer mobile business of Tata Telecom generated revenue of around $1.1 billion to $1.2 billion and a small [positive] ebitda in FY17, compared with Bharti’s revenue of $14.7 billion and ebitda of $5.4 billion. Bharti’s revenue market share will increase by 4-5 percentage points to around 37%-38%.”

    Tata Group will meanwhile be able to exit the consumer mobile segment, avoiding potential future losses. The group’s consumer mobile business been a drain on the company’s profit for some time. The company plans to retain Tata Teleservices’ enterprise fixed line and broadband business.

    Finally, the deal marks another move towards industry consolidation in India’s formerly overcrowded mobile market, Fitch noted.

    “[This consolidation] has been accelerated by the entry of aggressive new operator Reliance Jio. Since Jio’s launch in September 2016, the industry has consolidated into three large operators from over 10 participants,” the company said.

    “Weaker telcos have had to exit the market by selling their operations to the stronger telcos, which have had to rethink their long-term plans.”

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  • Mango India moves offline with store in Delhi

    Mango India moves offline with store in Delhi

    Mango India has moved on to the ground with a store in Delhi in conjunction with its e-commerce business partner Myntra.

    In turn, Myntra has partnered with select retail companies to curate the Spanish apparel company’s offline business and help it expand its omni-channel strategy in India.

    Mango’s expansion plan comprises 25 store openings in India over the next five years. Its first store, at Select Citywalk Mall in Delhi’s Saket district, was launched with an event hosted by model/actress Ileana D’Cruz. The second store will open at Phoenix Mall in Mumbai next month, to be followed by three more openings before year’s end.

    Delhi’s store has advanced technology to provide a seamless shopping experience. It sets the style for the stores to come, featuring integrated inventory and the “endless aisle” concept. Customers can browse the Mango collection on an in-store tablet, check out product details and availability, and have goods from other stores delivered to their home. The tablets also provide personalised recommendations based on purchase history, and advise customers about new products and styles.

    By using the assisted-checkout feature on the tablets, customers will be able to skip queues.

    Mango chose Myntra in 2014 to help develop its online business in India. Already Mango has become one of the five top-selling women’s western-wear brands on Myntra marketplace, with annual growth rates exceeding 100 per cent.

    “Myntra’s expertise has allowed us to reach virtually every corner of India and increase our customer base exponentially,” says Mango executive VP Daniel Lopez. “Following an omni-channel strategy and having physical stores will allow us to generate value for consumers by improving their shopping experience”.

    Founded in 1984, Barcelona-based Mango has stores  in 110 countries. Every year it designs more than 18,000 garments and accessories, and closed its latest financial year with sales of  €2.26 billion (US$ 2.6 billion).

    Myntra marketplace lists more than 2000 fashion and lifestyle brands such as Adidas, Diesel, Ferrari, Harley Davidson, Levi’s, Nike, Puma, Timberland and Wrangler.

  • Airtel to buy Tata Group’s consumer mobile business

    Airtel to buy Tata Group’s consumer mobile business

    India’s Bharti Airtel has agreed to acquire Tata Teleservices’ consumer mobile businesses as part of the wave of consolidation sweeping the sector.

    Under the agreement, Airtel will absorb Tata Teleservices’ consumer mobile businesses across 19 of India’s 22 telecoms circles, the Economic Times reported.

    The acquisition has been approved by the boards of Airtel, Tata Sons, Tata Telervices and Tata Teleservices Maharashtra.

    It will cover all customers and assets of Tata’s consumer mobile business, including 178.5 MHz of spectrum across the 850-MHz, 1800-MHz and 2100-MHz bands. It will also provide Airtel with a right to use part of Tata’s fiber network.

    According to the report, the merger is being conducted on a debt and cash free basis, but Airtel will assume part of Tata’s unpaid spectrum acquisition debt.

    The deal is a lifeline for Tata Group, which had been considering shutting down Tata Teleservices altogether due to ongoing losses. The company will split off and retain ownership of Tata Teleservices’ enterprise fixed line and broadband business.

    The company is in initial stages of exploring combining this enterprise business with Tata Communications and its retail fixed line and broadband business with Tata Sky. Tata also plans to retain its stake in tower company Viom Networks.

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  • Oppo Mobiles India given nod to open stores

    Oppo Mobiles India given nod to open stores

    Oppo Mobiles India has been granted approval to open single-brand retail stores, meaning the Chinese smartphone maker can now sell directly to consumers in addition to its wholesale business.

    The Foreign Investment Promotion Board announced the approval on its website, and has also approved luxury goods retailer Louis Vuitton’s application to open its own stores in India.

    India allows foreign firms to sell directly to consumers through the “single-brand retail” system, but companies need to source 30 per cent of the products locally. India moved to partially relax those conditions last year, exempting foreign retailers for three years from the 30 per cent local-sourcing rule.

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  • AirAsia now connects Bali and Kolkata

    AirAsia now connects Bali and Kolkata

    AirAsia Indonesia inaugurated its new flight route from Bali to Kolkata in India on Oct. 4.

    The service offers four flights a day departing from I Gusti Ngurah Rai International Airport in Bali and arrives at Kolkata’s Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose.

    Upon landing, the maiden flight, which used an Airbus A320-200 airplane, was greeted with a water canon at the airport in Bali.

    According to AirAsia Group CEO for Indonesia Dendy Kurniawan, the ticket sales for this route was first made available on Aug. 17 in accordance to the 72nd anniversary celebration of Indonesia’s Independence Day.

    “We want to emphasize that this expansion is only possible due to the hard work of the Transportation Ministry. We are currently in the first category of the FAA safety rank and we really appreciate it,” said Dendy.

    Following the launch of the new service, AirAsia now offers two routes to India as it previously launched Bali – Mumbai flight in May.

    This also marks the fourth international route from AirAsia Indonesia after Bali – Narita, Bali – Mumbai and Jakarta – Macau.

    The travel time between Bali from Kolkata is 7.5 hours including a short transit in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.

    India has the second highest growth percentage for the number of tourists to Indonesia with 27 percent per year, right behind China with 45 percent per year.

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  • FirstCry talking with potential investors

    FirstCry talking with potential investors

    Indian online baby products retailer FirstCry is talking with potential investors, including Singapore government investment fund Temasek Holdings, to raise equity financing of about US$100 million (Rs665 crore).

    FirstCry owner Brainbees Solutions is ultimately seeking to raise $400-500 million, reports The Economic Times. The Pune-based company was estimated to be worth $300-350 million when it last raised capital 12 months ago.

    Two years ago, FirstCry spun off its logistics arm Xpressbees Logistics as an independent business. A year ago it acquired Mahindra Retail for about Rs362 crore. The Mahindra Group subsidiary owned the Babyoye brand.

    Government-backed investment company Temasek manages assets worth about $275 billion globally. In India it has backed online marketplace Snapdeal, automobile classified portal CarTrade, and online insurance aggregator PolicyBazaar, as well as other companies.

    Meanwhile, India’s baby and child-specific product market is expected to grow at a CAGR of 8 per cent, reaching Rs2940 crore by 2021, according to a Euromonitor report.

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  • Thai AirAsia adds two new destinations in India

    Thai AirAsia adds two new destinations in India

    Thai AirAsia commenced two new routes from Bangkok Don Mueang (DMK) to India. Flights from the Thai airport to Tiruchirappalli (TRZ) commenced on 28 September, followed by the inaugural service to Jaipur (JAI) on 29 September. Both routes will be served four times weekly by Thai AirAsia A320s. There is no competition on either route. The airline now serves six destinations in India from Don Mueang, accounting for 32 weekly flights.

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  • RCom-Aircel merger deal collapses

    RCom-Aircel merger deal collapses

    India’s Reliance Communications (RCom) has called off a planned merger of its wireless business with rival Aircel as a result of regulatory uncertainty and opposition from some creditors.

    RCom had been planning to merge its wireless business with Aircel to create a 50:50 joint venture with Aircel parent company Maxis, in a deal aimed at reducing its debt burden by around $3 billion.

    But the company announced on Sunday that its merger agreement with Aircel has now “lapsed by mutual consent” due to “legal uncertainties” and “interventions by vested interests” – referring to creditors to the company.

    RCom will now have to pursue alternative methods of reducing its substantial debt burden of around 450 billion rupees ($6.8 billion).

    LiveMint reports that the operator now plans a fire sale of assets ranging from spectrum to real estate as part of a plan to reduce its debt by around 250 billion rupees. This will partly involve adopting a 4G focus to allow it to monitize its existing 2G and 3G spectrum.

    RCom is also planning to sell its tower business and had been seeking to fetch around 110 billion rupees from the sale, but this will need to be revised now that Aircel’s tenancies will no longer be included in the deal.

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