E-commerce giant Amazon has received government approval to retail food products in India, which would now allow it to expand its business to compete with local rival Flipkart.
Amazon was earlier reported to be keen on investing $500 million (SR1.87 billion) in the food segment, aside from the $5 billion it had already committed for its operations in India.
Seattle-based Amazon currently acts as an intermediary for the online sale of food products in India via Amazon Pantry, where independent retailers including joint venture Cloudtail sell various products. It also offers same-day grocery delivery on its Amazon Now app through a tie-up with Indian retailers Big Bazaar, Star Bazaar and Hypercity.
The government’s approval offers Amazon an incentive to sell its own private-label food products, and potentially give it an edge over Flipkart, which has been India’s leading e-commerce player except for the grocery segment.
Flipkart is planning to launch its own private brand in the grocery segment after an earlier attempt, through an app called Nearby, failed to catch on to customers and was shut down in February last year.
India is the third world’s largest grocery market with $428 billion worth of sales, but the subcontinent’s online grocery segment makes up only one percent – or about $150 million – of the total global turnover.
Amazon wants to tap India’s rapid shift to online and mobile shopping, which is estimated to grow to $47 billion in 2020 from only $10 billion in 2015.
The web giant on June 16 announced its acquisition of Whole Foods for $13.7 billion – the largest in Amazon’s 22-year history so far, dwarfing its $1.2 billion purchase of online footwear retailer Zappos in 2009.
Amazon receives India’s approval to sell food products
Amazon receives India’s approval to sell food products
Closing Bell: Saudi main market edges up to close at 11,216.9
RIYADH: Saudi Arabia’s Tadawul All Share Index rose on Sunday, closing at 11,216.93, up 28.20 points, or 0.25 percent.
The MSCI Tadawul 30 Index also advanced, finishing at 1,512.99, a gain of 0.29 percent, while the parallel market index, Nomu, inched up 0.09 percent to 23,887.01.
Trading activity was robust, with a total of 150.4 million shares changing hands and an aggregate value of SR3.3 billion ($880.2 million).
Among the top gainers, Zahrat Al Waha for Trading Co. surged 7.05 percent to SR2.58. The Mediterranean and Gulf Cooperative Insurance & Reinsurance Co. rose 5.26 percent to SR15.82, and Jahez International Co. for Information System Technology increased 4.68 percent to SR14.09.
Saudi Real Estate Co. added 4.47 percent to SR14.48, while Arabian Shield Cooperative Insurance Co. gained 4.3 percent to SR12.12.
On the other hand, Abdullah Saad Mohammed Abo Moati for Bookstores Co. fell 3.55 percent to SR44, and The Company for Cooperative Insurance dropped 2.92 percent to SR133.
Canadian Medical Center Co. eased 2.69 percent to SR6.15, Ataa Educational Co. declined 2.61 percent to SR52.15, and ADES Holding Co. finished 2.5 percent lower at SR18.31.
Meanwhile, Saudi Aramco Base Oil Co. announced that its board of directors has recommended distributing cash dividends for the second half of 2025.
The proposed payout is SR3.5 per share, bringing total dividends for the year to SR4.5 per share, representing around 70 percent of free cash flow in line with the company’s performance-linked dividend policy.
The total amount to be distributed for the second half stands at SR589.9 million, covering 168.2 million eligible shares.
Eligibility will be determined at the close of trading on the day of the company’s general assembly, with the distribution date to be announced later. Luberef shares last traded at SR105.5, up 3.53 percent.
Separately, the Capital Market Authority revealed that it has licensed Lesha Capital to conduct investment management and fund operations in the securities business, following the company’s completion of all required business registrations.
