Why Facebook, Reliance Jio deal is a wake-up call for Amazon, Flipkart

Reliance Jio-Facebook deal is an attempt to marry e-commerce with social media, say analysts.

As Facebook, the world’s largest social media company, invests $5.7 billion for a 9.99 per cent stake in Reliance Jio Platforms, the deal is also seen as a powerful alliance to take on formidable players in e-commerce and payments space such as Amazon, Flipkart and Google. The partnership is expected to help Mukesh Ambani-led Reliance’s e-commerce venture JioMart to take on players such as Amazon and Flipkart in the Indian online commerce market, backed by Facebook. According to industry insiders and analysts, the market opportunities for online commerce in the country is expected to touch $200 billion by 2028 from $30 billion in 2018.

ALSO READ: Facebook-RIL deal to drive investors’ confidence in India’s telecom space

“(Out of the investment made by Facebook) about Rs 15,000 crore would remain with Jio, and this is a huge amount which JioMart can use for building its (e-commerce) network. If they are able to execute this properly on the ground, I think they are going to create massive problems for the likes of Amazon and Flipkart due to the kind of scale that they can achieve,” said Satish Meena, a senior forecast analyst at Forrester Research.

To begin with, Meena said, JioMart is expected to aggressively chase the grocery space, where they can reach a large number of households and work in a way where customers end up buying a lot of services from Reliance itself, related to areas such as mobile connection, television, music and education. “The bigger worry for Amazon and Flipkart now is to reevaluate their business model or logistics as they are not able to fulfil the grocery demand. There is a lot of demand but companies are not ready to deliver.”

Sacred Games 2 to Leila: Here’s what Indians are watching on Netflix

Five of the ten most popular shows such as Bard of Blood, Delhi Crime, and Typewriter are Indian

The second season of Sacred Games was the most popular series on Netflix in India in 2019. The $15.8-billion Netflix, which is available in 160 million homes across 190 countries, rarely shares viewership data. This week, the firm released a list of the most popular series and movies released on its platform in India.

Five of the ten most popular shows such as Bard of Blood, Delhi Crime, and Typewriter are Indian. The rest are an eclectic mix of international shows. There is science-fiction horror show Stranger Things (Season 3) and the witty Sex Education, among others. On the other hand, four of the top ten films are Netflix movies — Drive, House Arrest, 6 Underground, and Chopsticks. Not surprisingly,

as percentage of the overall time spent on Netflix globally, film viewing in India is the highest. About one-fourth of the television time is spent on watching movies. The ranking is based on the “number of accounts choosing to watch at least two minutes of a series, movie or special during its first 28 days on Netflix in 2019,” says a Netflix release. The same methodology is used to calculate its daily Top 10 lists in the UK and Mexico.

After bitcoin crackdown, China now wants centralised digital currency

China was once a stronghold of bitcoin

As Facebook readies to launch its answer to bitcoin, China is set to introduce its own digital currency — one that could allow the government and the central bank to see what people spend their money on, according to analysts.

Far from the libertarian ideals of cryptocurrencies, whose anonymity allows users to buy and sell without leaving a digital trail, China’s mooted e-cash system will be tightly regulated, experts say, and run by the People’s Bank of China, the central bank. It “would give the PBoC greater insight into transactions throughout the country,” analysts at Beijing-based research firm Trivium China said in a note.

In late September, central bank governor Yi Gang said China’s new currency may be associated with existing electronic payment systems, such as the popular WeChat and AliPay phone apps, which are widespread and allow yuan transactions via bank accounts.

While he gave no timetable, Chinese media are putting their money on a November 11 launch to coincide with “Singles Day” — a massive, annual online sales event. Yi did not say what shape the currency would take. “We will not predetermine the technical path,” he said…

E-commerce firms expect 60% increase in business this Diwali season

The estimate is in sharp contrast to the prevailing economic scenario in the country, with every other industry blaming slowdown for affecting businesses

Almost 32 million users are expected to buy from the e-commerce firms during the upcoming mega Diwali sale, RedSeer Consulting has said. The firm claims the period will see users make 75 million transactions this year, against over 45 million in the last.

The estimate is in sharp contrast to the prevailing economic scenario in the country, with every other industry blaming slowdown for affecting businesses. A few days ago, however, the two e-commerce majors in India — Flipkart and Amazon — shrugged off slowdown stories.

RedSeer’s numbers show that might be true for the e-commerce sector in the country. During this year’s festive sale, e-commerce firms are expected to clock business of $3.7 billion, 60-65 per cent higher than $2.3 billion last year, according to estimates from RedSeer. Forester Research also estimates $3.8 billion in overall e-commerce sales. However, its estimate of growth is 36 per cent, given that it believes 2018 festive season sales were $2.9 billion.

“Our consumer and business research and prediction modellers clearly indicate that market is ready to grow significantly during the festive days of 2019,” said Anil Kumar, founder and chief executive, RedSeer….

Amazon, Flipkart create over 140,000 temporary jobs ahead of festive sales

Amazon.in, in a statement on Tuesday, said it has created more than 90,000 seasonal employment opportunities. Similarly, Walmart-owned Flipkart has added over 50,000 direct jobs

E-commerce giant Amazon and Flipkart have created over 1.4 lakh temporary jobs across supply chain, last-mile connectivity and customer support in preparation for their festive sales that kicks off later this month.

Amazon.in, in a statement on Tuesday, said it has created more than 90,000 seasonal employment opportunities across its fulfilment centres, sortation centres, delivery stations, partner fulfilment network and customer service sites.

Similarly, Walmart-owned Flipkart has added over 50,000 direct jobs across its supply chain, logistics arm and customer support. It expects to have increased the indirect jobs through the seller network by 30 per cent over last year taking it to 6.5 lakh in the run up to its Big Billion Days sale, a Flipkart statement said.

Like in offline retail, e-commerce companies see a significant jump in sales during Dusshera and Diwali. The September-November period typically generates a majority of annual sales of these companies, which prepare months in advance for the sale events.

Amazon said it has created seasonal positions in cities like Mumbai, Delhi, Hyderabad, Chennai, Bengaluru , Ahmedabad and Pune, along with indirect opportunities through its fulfilment partner networks such as its trucking partners and packaging vendors...

One deal at a time: How Mukesh Ambani is trying to take on Amazon in India

Asia’s richest man is sharpening his focus on e-commerce with a string of tiny acquisitions and stake purchases to face Amazon

Companies News: A $2.5 billion spending spree involving more than two dozen deals provides some insight into how Mukesh Ambani is piecing together a strategy to take on Amazon.com Inc. in India. Asia’s richest man is sharpening his focus on e-commerce with a string of tiny acquisitions and stake purchases to face the world’s largest online retailer, after shaking up India’s telecommunications industry with cheap data and free calls.

The acquisitions represent a new strategy for Ambani’s Reliance Group, whose founder — his father Dhirubhai Ambani — built a petrochemicals business and the world’s largest oil-refining complex from scratch.

It’s a clear pivot toward consumer offerings in a country that’s becoming a battleground for giants such as Amazon.com and Walmart Inc.’s Flipkart Online Services Pvt. “The deals may be tiny, but it’s more likely that they are putting together a team of talented people by acquisitions, who can then be invested in to build out larger platform products,” said Kunal Agrawal, an analyst with Bloomberg Intelligence…

‘Shopping Experience’

Ambani outlined his plan to shareholders in July, saying the effort will involve the group’s unlisted businesses Reliance Retail Ltd. and Reliance Jio Infocomm Ltd. He has already spent about $36 billion on Jio, which has rolled out a nationwide 4G network and fibre broadband infrastructure, causing some established rivals to pull back.

The platform will use augmented reality, holographs and virtual reality to create an “immersive shopping experience,” said Ambani, 61. Reliance’s consumer businesses will contribute nearly as much to the conglomerate’s overall earnings as its bread-and-butter energy businesses by the end of 2028, he said…

OnePlus 6, Honor 10 India launches this week: Things that you need to know

While the OnePlus 6 is set to be unveiled on May 17 and would go on sale starting May 21, exclusively on Amazon, the Honor 10 would be unveiled on May 15 and go on sale starting May 16 on Flipkart

Chinese smartphone manufacturers OnePlus and Honor are gearing up to launch their flagship smartphone – the OnePlus 6 and Honor 10 – in India this week. While the OnePlus 6 is set to be unveiled on May 17 and go on sale starting May 21, exclusively on Amazon, the Honor 10 would be unveiled on May 15 and go on sale starting May 16 on Flipkart. Both the smartphones would compete in the mid-range flagship segment.

Here are a few things that you need to know about the OnePlus 6 and Honor 10 smartphones:

OnePlus 6 screen

The OnePlus has used a 5.5-inch fullHD screen in most of its smartphones, except the OnePlus 5T, which has a 6-inch screen due to an 18:9 aspect ratio screen. The OnePlus 6, based on recent leak by Amazon Germany, is expected to have a 6.28-inch screen with fullHD+ resolution. As confirmed by the company’s co-founder earlier, the screen would sport a notch on top.

OnePlus 6 design

The OnePlus 6 will make a departure from the current trend of an aluminium build in favour of a glass body, but it would retain horizontal lines and curved design of the current generation flagship.

OnePlus 6 colours

The new glass-based design of the OnePlus 6 is confirmed to feature nanotech coating, something similar to the Huawei P20 Pro. Therefore, the phone is expected to come in multiple colour options, too. The phone is expected to come in at least three colour variants – black, white and blue.

OnePlus 6 camera

In terms of imaging, the smartphone would bring certain upgrades over the current generation. A new camera placement, vertically in the centre, with a fingerprint reader below it, is confirmed. However, the exact camera specifications have been kept under wraps, and the phone, according to a leak, is expected to sport a dual-camera set-up on its back utilising 16-megapixel and 20MP sensors placed vertically at the upper centre, instead of the horizontal set-up found in the current generation. As for the front, the selfie camera is reported to feature a 20MP sensor of f/2.0 aperture size.

As for the features, ultra-slow motion video recording is one particular feature that would be making way to the OnePlus 6, as confirmed by the company through teasers shared on various social media channels.

OnePlus 6 features and specifications

The phone will be powered by Qualcomm Snapdragon 845 system-on-chip (SoC) and have a 256GB storage variant paired with 8GB of RAM. The mid-range smartphone is also expected to have 64GB and 128GB variants, paired with 6GB of RAM. OnePlus has been teasing the features of the smartphone in the form of tweets and as part of other social media promotion activities – ingress protection (IP) rating for water and dust resistance, for example.

OnePlus 6 price

The OnePlus 6 is expected to price sub-Rs 40,000, at least for the base models with 6GB RAM and 64GB and 128GB storage options.

Honor 10 screen

Similar to the OnePlus 6, the Honor 10 would also sport a notch-based screen. However, the Honor device would sport a smaller 5.8-inch fullHD+ 19:9 aspect ratio screen compared to the 6.28-inch in the OnePlus 6.

Honor 10 design

The Honor 10 is expected to feature a glass-metal-glass sandwich design, similar to the recently launched Huawei P20-series. The phone is also expected to feature twilight coloured glass on the back, which shows different colour shades when looked at from different angles. The phone is also expected to sport a dual rear-camera unit placed horizontally on the top left corner. However, the fingerprint scanner is not visible on the back, so it is assumed to have been put on the front side below the screen.

Honor 10 camera

Being a cost-effective substitute to the premium Huawei P20-series smartphones, the Honor 10 might shed the Leica lens in favour of the company’s in-house imaging solution. The phone’s camera is also expected to feature artificial intelligence-based scene selection and other camera modes. However, the AI-based camera feature in the Honor 10 might be limited in comparison with the Huawei P20-series smartphones.

As for the features, AI-based scene selection and ultra-slow motion video recording are expected to feature in the upcoming smartphone.

Honor 10 features and specifications

The Honor devices, a cost-effective substitute to the Huawei P-series and Mate-series premium smartphones, usually feature similar technical specifications and features of the premium Huawei smartphones. The Honor 10 is expected to take inspiration from the recently launched Huawei P20 Pro, however, might miss on premium features such as Leica-tuned camera lenses, AMOLED screen, etc, which are limited to premium Huawei smartphones.

Just like the Huawei P20-series, the Honor 10 is expected to feature Kirin 970 system-on-chip (SoC), coupled with up to 6 GB of RAM and 128 GB of internal storage. The phone is expected to feature Android Oreo-based EMUI 8.0, with system-wide AI integration for enhanced user experience.

Honor 10 Price

In terms of pricing, according to an industry source, the Honor 10 would be launched at Rs 35,000 and would rival the OnePlus 6 in the midrange flagship segment.

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Flipkart will become Walmart today: Is that really good news for India?

The sale of Flipkart is not just the sale of one company. It is the beginning of a new tomorrow. It is just that one cannot be sure whether that tomorrow will be better for India than today

When Carl Douglas McMillon, president and chief executive officer of Walmart Inc, arrives at the Embassy Tech Village headquarters of Flipkart in Bengaluru later on Wednesday to acquire India’s first-to-a-billion-dollars-startup, he will be accompanied by Walmart International’s Judith McKenna and CEO (commerce) Marc Lore. It will be a triumphal return to India for the Bentonville, Arkansas-based retailer which will be partnering Google’s parent Alphabet Inc in a deal estimated at $18-20 billion enterprise value – Walmart will own about 60 per cent stake, and Alphabet will get to own about 15 per cent of the online market place.

The passage of the past five years has obviously dulled memories. All recent media reports seem to have conveniently glossed over the history of Walmart’s previous foray into India, in partnership with Sunil Mittal’s Bharti group. Walmart in 2012 launched a global review of corruption after a New York Times report on bribery at the company’s Mexico operations. The review by its lawyers flagged India among the countries with the highest corruption risk. The US Foreign Corrupt Practices Act forbids American firms from paying bribes. Almost on cue, in November that year, Bharti Walmart suspended a number of employees, including the chief financial officer, as part of an internal investigation into bribery allegations in the Indian operation. By June 2013, Raj Jain, the CEO of the India operations, quit after six years at the helm of the company. It did not take much time thereafter for the Walmart-Bharti JV to fall apart.

One hopes that this time around Walmart has done enough due diligence before committing to the deal. One hopes that someone has told Carl Douglas McMillon (Doug to friends) that when Flipkart-owned Myntra acquired fashion e-tailer Jabong from the troubled Rocket Internet, Jabong was facing a huge number of corporate governance issues. Hope Doug has made sure that there are no troublesome skeletons from the past that might come in the way of US laws that Walmart likes to be governed and guided by, because of Jabong’s past.

Also, Doug must surely have been apprised that earlier this year Flipkart lost an appeal against the income-tax department over the reclassification of marketing expenditure and discounts as capital expenditure, which will surely involve substantial tax liabilities from the past. Just for Doug to know, this ruling was made in December last year, and the issue involves money spent by e-commerce companies on marketing through deep discounts. Flipkart (and Amazon, too) has been classifying these discounts as marketing expenses and deducting them from revenue, leading them to posting losses and, therefore, not being liable to tax. The tax department, however, contends that this is not a cost but a capital expenditure which means it should not be deducted from revenue. This issue of deep discounts might need further briefing to Doug as the Confederation of All India Traders (CAIT), an umbrella association representing millions of India’s small traders, has also been demanding government scrutiny of Flipkart’s predatory pricing through deep discounts. So, Doug does need to know that while he is taking ownership of India’s largest e-tailer, there are issues from the past that might somewhat temper the euphoria.

Read More about Walmart flipkart deal

No charges on debit card transactions up to Rs 2,000: FinMin

MDR would be borne by govt for two years with effect from January 1, 2018 by reimbursing the same to banks

 

 

Customers will not have to pay any transaction charges for payments through debit card, BHIM app and other payment made for up to Rs 2,000 from today onwards.

Last month, Union Cabinet approved a proposal that government will bear the merchant discount rate (MDR) charges on transactions up to Rs 2,000 made through debit cards, BHIM UPI or Aadhaar-enabled payment systems to promote digital transactions.

"Happy Digital 2018. December Quarter BHIM transaction rises 86 per cent to 145.6 million with value of Rs 13,174 crore," Financial Services Secretary Rajiv Kumar said in a tweet.

"Further impetus to digital payments, government to reimburse charges for transaction up to Rs 2,000 on debit cards/BHIM. Zero charges on merchants. Go Digital, embrace transparency," he said.

The merchant discount rate (MDR) will be borne by the government for two years with effect from January 1, 2018 by reimbursing the same to banks.

The move will have an impact of Rs 2,512 crore on the exchequer.

The decision was taken at the Cabinet meeting chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

Flipkart's Bansals are officially out of the billionaire club

Net worth may have dropped to $870 mn after Flipkart's latest funding

 

Flipkart co-founders Sachin Bansal and Binny Bansal are no longer a part of the billionaire club after the company closed a $1.4-billion funding round.

The two men, in their mid-thirties, became India’s first start-up billionaires after Flipkart closed a $700-million round, at a valuation of $15.2 billion, in July 2015. Forbes had then reported they owned 7.5 per cent each in the company, making each of them worth $1.15 billion.

However, with Flipkart’s latest funding round seeing its valuation drop by a little over 23 per cent to $11.6 billion, and if the shareholding of each founder hasn’t changed, their net worth will drop to around $870 million. 

Considering that the company was forced to go in for a fresh funding round, the founders’ shareholding is likely to have been diluted further. Hence, it’s clear they are out of the billionaire club.| read more...