Tencent has invested $62.8 million in Flipkart through the Indian e-commerce giant’s Singapore-based parent entity Flipkart Pte. The fresh investment is likely a part of Flipkart’s $1.2 billion round that was led by Walmart in July this year.
Tencent remains the second-biggest shareholder in the e-commerce marketplace, increasing its stake from 5% to 5.34% and worth $1.21 billion post the latest investment made through its subsidiary Aceville. The capital infusion from Tencent in Flipkart has come at a time when India and China are locked in a fierce border standoff in the Ladakh region. When the first incidents were reported, the Indian government took steps to counter and check the growing incidence of China-backed funds and firms investing in Indian startups.
While Tencent might have chosen Singapore to bypass the new rules and compliance for its latest investment in India, its recent investment in music and podcast streaming app Gaana was done via debt through its European subsidiary Tencent Cloud. The new infusion is crucial for Flipkart as the company has been gearing up for its best two business months in the year – October and November. Both Flipkart and Amazon have been recording bumper sales the past 4-5 years during these two festival months in India.
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