Flipkart raises R19.5bn in high-stakes Amazon battle

INDIA’S top e-commerce firm Flipkart Online Services Pvt Ltd has raised $1.4-billion (R19.5-billion) in its biggest fundraising to date as it takes on US tech giant Amazon.com Inc for a larger share of the country’s burgeoning online retail market.

Chinese social media and entertainment firm Tencent Holdings Ltd, software company Microsoft Corp and online marketplace eBay Inc participated in the funding round, Flipkart said yesterday, which will value the Indian company at $11.6-billion (R161.3-billion).

That is lower than the $15-billion (R208.6-billion) valuation achieved at its last fundraising in 2015, reflecting how competition has intensified in the e-commerce sector as companies vie for a slice of the world’s fastest-growing internet services market.

Amazon said last year it would invest more than $5-billion (R69.5-billion) in India, and has recently expanded into online video and grocery shopping, seeking to expand aggressively in a country where a rising middle class is increasingly shopping online.

The fundraising also comes amid speculation Flipkart might be interested in a takeover of smaller rival Snapdeal.

Local media have reported SoftBank Group is keen to sell its stake in Snapdeal in exchange for a stake in Flipkart.

“We are delighted,” Flipkart founders Sachin and Binny Bansal said.