Business

NEW DELHI: Flipkart group is likely to acquire the loss-making wholesale cash-and-carry business of its parent US retail giant Walmart in India. The move comes shortly after talks with the Tata Group, which was looking to pick up a stake in Walmart India, made no headway. Sources said the Flipkart group, which operates Flipkart and Myntra, is looking at a reverse acquisition of the B2B segment of Walmart and it will function as a subsidiary of the group. Flipkart is expanding its footprint in the online food and grocery segment and the acquisition of the B2B business provides strength to the supply chain. A questionnaire emailed to a Flipkart Group spokesperson did not elicit a response. The Bengaluru-headquartered company, in which Walmart acquired a 77% stake for around $16 billion, is piloting an online B2B business in North India, similar to Amazon Business and recently launched Jio Mart by Mukesh Ambani-led Reliance Industries. Flipkart’s B2B online business will also … [Read more...] about Walmart’s cash & carry business may go to Flipkart

BELLEVUE: Software firm Icertis which provides enterprise contract management in the cloud to enterprise businesses is doubling down on the Asia Pacific region driven largely by India. The firm which counts IT giants like Infosys, Wipro, Genpact, Cognizant as also Lupin and Mindtree amongst its clients in India is looking to widen its clientele in the country for which it is in talks with leading firms in the banking, manufacturing and pharma industries. “India is a very important business geography for Icertis both in terms of sales and from an engineering talent availability perspective. Currently, about 10% of our revenues come from APAC with a majority of that driven by India,” Samir Bodas, co-founder and CEO of the Bellevue-based firm told ET. “Over the next 3-5 years, we will see that number growing to 20%,” Bodas outlined. Icertis’ 2018 revenues are pegged between $50-80 million and the firm works with clients which clock revenues of atleast $1 … [Read more...] about Icertis doubles down on APAC business driven by India; to scale revenues to 20% in 3-5 years

As Australia Day falls on Sunday this year the public holiday will fall on Monday the 27th, following the same rules as last year when Australia Day fell on the Saturday and made Monday the public holiday. … [Read more...] about The retailers open for business this Australia Day long weekend

There has not been a single complete M&A deal that has fructified in the life insurance space and while we would love to be the first one, I do not think the path is very easy, said Vibha Padalkar, MD & CEO, HDFC Life Insurance, in an interview with ETNOW. Edited excerpts: Now FY19 has been a tough environment for the insurance industry, but things are looking up for HDFC Life. What led to the improved NBAP margins and overall performance? We had a very satisfying fourth quarter (Q4) and we had an all-round growth in our key matrix starting off with our top line growth of 17%. We had a very robust renewal premium, we had a product mix which showed an increasing share of both protection as well as longevity protection in the form of annuities. We also had a very good growth in our new business margin. So, standalone Q4 new business margins grew by 25.6%. On a full-year basis, it was 24.6%. We also ended the year with an embedded value operating profit of 20.1% on an embedded … [Read more...] about New business margins grew 25.6% in Q4 and 24.6% for FY19: Vibha Padalkar, HDFC Life

China is mobilizing medical resources nationwide to aid Wuhan and control the epidemic. Doctors, nurses and experts from across the nation have been selected to join the battle, and manufacturers have restarted their plants to produce medical consumables that have been running short in many places. … [Read more...] about Xinhua Headlines: Quiet and busy — Lunar New Year’s Eve in Wuhan, center of coronavirus fight