MUMBAi: Asia’s richest man Mukesh Ambani announced details of a new online shopping platform Friday that will see his oil-to-telecoms conglomerate take on Amazon and Walmart in India’s burgeoning e-commerce market.
Ambani, the chairman of Reliance Industries, said the company’s telecoms and consumer businesses planned to roll out the venture in the western state of Gujarat before expanding across India.
“Jio and Reliance Retail will launch a unique new commerce platform to empower and enrich our 12 lakh (1.2 million) small retailers and shopkeepers in Gujarat,” Ambani told a summit attended by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
Ambani, 61, has been drip-feeding his e-commerce plans for India over the past few months in announcements that are no doubt being keenly watched by US giants Amazon and Walmart.
Reliance shook up India’s telecoms market in September 2016 when it launched its 4G Jio network with free voice calls for life and vastly cheaper data.
The launch sent the profits of other mobile players spiralling downwards and sparked consolidation across the industry as rivals scrambled to match Reliance’s deep pockets.
Amazon and leading Indian e-tailer Flipkart, which was bought by Walmart for $16 billion last year, have been expanding aggressively to gain a bigger slice of India’s growing online customers.
They have incurred huge losses along the way, however, and analysts say that Reliance’s entry into the e-commerce sphere will make their jobs even harder.
India’s e-commerce sales are expected to triple between now and 2022, when they are likely to pass the $100 billion mark, according to recent research by industry body NASSCOM and PricewaterhouseCoopers.
The rise is being fuelled by greater smartphone penetration, in part thanks to Jio, and a rising middle class with more disposable income.
India’s richest man to battle Amazon, Walmart in e-commerce
India’s richest man to battle Amazon, Walmart in e-commerce
- The businessman plans to start his e-commerce business in Gujarat and then expand into the rest of India
- He says his new e-commerce platform will help enrich small retailers and shopkeepers in Gujart
Closing Bell: Saudi main index closes in red at 11,167
RIYADH: Saudi Arabia’s Tadawul All Share Index dipped on Wednesday, losing 46.43 points, or 0.41 percent, to close at 11,167.54.
The total trading turnover of the benchmark index was SR4.88 billion ($1.30 billion), as 66 of the listed stocks advanced, while 192 retreated.
The MSCI Tadawul Index decreased, down 5.52 points, or 0.37 percent, to close at 1,506.55.
The Kingdom’s parallel market Nomu lost 153.40 points, or 0.65 percent, to close at 23,486.52. This comes as 32 of the listed stocks advanced, while 31 retreated.
The best-performing stock was Tourism Enterprise Co., with its share price surging 9.95 percent to SR14.36.
Other top performers included Mobile Telecommunication Co., Saudi Arabia, which saw its share price rise by 5.32 percent to SR11.48, and Al Masar Al Shamil Education Co., which saw a 4.86 percent increase to SR22.89.
On the downside, Almoosa Health Co. was the day’s weakest performer, with its share price falling 4.81 percent to SR150.40.
Dallah Healthcare Co. fell 3.81 percent to SR113.50, while Saudi Research and Media Group dropped 3.44 percent to SR100.90.
On the corporate front, Arabian Plastic Industrial Co. has signed a non-binding memorandum of understanding with K. K. Nag to explore the establishment of a specialized manufacturing facility for expanded polypropylene products.
According to a Tadawul statement, the agreement sets out initial mutual obligations and rights between the two parties as part of APICO’s broader expansion strategy to increase production capacity and meet rising industrial demand.
The company’s share price rose 1.21 percent to SR43.52 on the parallel market.
