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1. Flipkart in early talks to raise $1 billion ahead of IPO
Indian e-commerce giant Flipkart has hit the market to raise about $1 billion at up to $30 billion valuation in a pre-IPO financing round.
The Bangalore-based startup, which sold majority stake to Walmart for $16 billion in 2018, initiated fundraise possibilities with some investors earlier this year and has since grown more serious and hired bankers.
“34% of the population [in India] are millennials, young people. By 2030, there is an estimate that this young population of millennials and GenZ will be 75% of the total population. 700 million Indians are digital today. And I also want to just quickly acknowledge that Digital India vision of the Government of India, which has actually enabled this. So you have a unique combination of a big market, completely digital, getting wealthier and very young,” said Kalyan Krishnamurthy, CEO of Flipkart, in February.
2. China expresses concern over its absence in India’s 5G trials
China expressed concern on Wednesday over India’s move to not grant any Chinese firm permission to participate in 5G trials in the world’s second-largest internet market as the two neighboring nations struggle to navigate business ties amid their geo-political tensions.
India’s Department of Telecommunications earlier this week approved over a dozen firms’ applications to conduct a six-month trial to test the use and application of 5G technology in the country.
Among those who have received the approval include international giants such as Ericsson, Nokia and Samsung that will collaborate with Indian telecom operators Jio Platforms, Airtel, Vodafone Idea and MTNL for the trial.
Huawei, ZTE and other Chinese companies that have been operating in India for several years, haven’t received the approval from the Indian government to participate in the upcoming trial. The Indian ministry said earlier this week that it granted permission to those firms that had been picked by the telecom operators.
China expresses concern over its absence in India’s 5G trials
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