Amazon is looking at converting Cloudtail and Appario — two of the most prominent sellers on the platform — into wholesale entities undertaking business-to-business (B2B) transactions in order to be compliant with ecommerce FDI rules that came into effect on February 1. Cloudtail and Appario, in which Amazon holds 49% each, will then sell to […]
Archives for February 2019
How a chain of subsidiaries may help e-comm firms skirt curbs
India’s e-commerce majors are looking at setting up a chain of subsidiaries that will allow them to create new vendors, after revised foreign investment rules barred their controlled entities from selling on the marketplaces. Legal experts pointed out that Amazon and Flipkart, the two online retail giants that have spent billions in Asia’s third largest […]
Antitrust advocates back new e-comm rules, others push for same rules for local firms
Global antitrust practitioners are lauding the new FDI in e-commerce rules, which kicked in last week, and said the new rules will prevent technology companies from forming monopolies in India. They termed it as a step in the right direction to protect smaller businesses which sell on platforms like Amazon. However, some felt that the […]
Amazon, Flipkart sales fall a third as FDI norms kick in
India’s top two online marketplaces, Amazon and Flipkart, have seen as much as a third of sales volume disappear on their platforms since the new foreign investment rules in e-commerce came into effect three days ago, people privy to the matter told ET. The new regulations bar some of the business practices that foreign-funded e-commerce […]
Should you de-register for VAT?
One of our clients asked me today if they still needed to be VAT registered. Their business has changed now they no longer have an employee to help them. So I took some time this morning to calculate whether they would be better off de-registering for VAT. There are a number of factors to take […]
YouTube wants to tackle ‘dislike’ button misuse, seeks feedback from creators
In a bid to curb notorious users from misusing the dislike button to harm content and channels on YouTube, the Google-owned video sharing platform is seeking creators’ feedbacks on ideas to tackle the issue. Explaining the “lightly discussed” strategies, Tom Leung, Director of Project Management at YouTube, addressed the issue of “dislike mobs” in a […]
Amazon, Walmart lose over $50 billion in market value after e-tail policy change
US-based corporations Amazon and Walmart, which owns 77% stake in India’s largest online retailer Flipkart, together lost over $50 billion in market capitalisation on Friday after the government’s updated e-commerce policy came into effect. Both companies have made big bets on the Indian retail market – with Amazon committing $5 billion here while Walmart spent […]
SoftBank’s Vision Fund in talks to invest $1.5B in Chinese used car platform: Sources
The SoftBank-led Vision Fund is in talks to invest up to $1.5 billion in Chinese used car trading platform Guazi.com, two people with knowledge of the matter said. That would mark the latest Chinese deal by the mammoth $100 billion investment fund as it looks to expand in the world’s No.2 economy, and would come […]
Tech companies, states spar with govt over net neutrality
Tech companies and nearly two dozen U.S. states clashed with the government in federal court Friday over the repeal of net neutrality, a set of Obama-era rules aimed at preventing big internet providers from discriminating against certain technology and services. Judges challenged arguments made by both sides in the faceoff in an appeals court in […]
Budget 2019: Promises galore, but the trek to a $10-trillion economy won’t be easy
By Ritesh Agarwal, OYO Hotels & Homes The interim budget sets lofty expectations of a Vision 2030 to bring widespread economic growth through next generation physical and social infrastructure. But the trek to a $10-trillion economy will not be easy. There is the promise of hope, but the delivery needs to be precise. The key […]