27th Aug’14 FII’s & DII’s Activity

Updated : 06.21pm / 27th Aug’14

Ratan Tata invests in Snapdeal.com

Ratan Tata, Tata Sons Chairman Emeritus, has invested in online marketplace Snapdeal.com. “Mr Tata has made a personal investment in the company,” Snapdeal cofounder and CEO Kunal Bahl said.

The investment amount, however, was not disclosed. “This stands testimony to the growth and success that we have seen in a short span of 4 years,” Bahl said. Snapdeal, which has raised about USD 400 million since its inception, has invested about USD 100 million in logistics and operations to expand its presence in the USD 3 billion Indian eCommerce market. “An investment by a legendary and respected figure like Mr Tata is an excellent validation of our focused strategy on building a long term enterprise and marks the start of a very important phase for the company,” Bahl said. Snapdeal has seen 600 per cent growth year-on-year for the last two years, he added.

Snapdeal currently houses over 5 million products across 500 diverse categories from over 50,000 sellers. The city-based firm had raised USD 100 million (about Rs 600 crore) in May from Temasek, BlackRock Inc, Myriad, Premji Invest and Tybourne, while in February, it had received funding worth USD 133.7 million (about Rs 830 crore) from its existing investor, eBay and others.

A report by consulting firm Technopak pegs the USD 2.3 billion e-tailing market to reach USD 32 billion by 2020. Snapdeal rival Flipkart on July 29 announced a USD 1 billion funding, which is the largest in the fledgling ecommerce sector.

A day later, world’s largest e-tailer Amazon said it will pump in USD two billion to bolster business here. Another report by consultancy firm PwC and industry body Assocham suggests that e-commerce firms are expected to spend up to USD 1.9 billion by 2017-2020 on infrastructure, logistics and warehousing.

Self cleaning Road in Korea…

Rooting out Islamic State won’t be easy, says Obama

President Barack Obama vowed to punish the Islamic State killers of American journalist James Foley on Tuesday but said rooting out the militant group in Iraq and Syria will not be fast or easy.

As Obama spoke, the United States was moving ahead with surveillance flights over Syria to identify targets for a potential presidential order to launch air strikes against Islamic State targets in what would be a direct US military intervention into a country embroiled in a three-year civil war. “America does not forget. Our reach is long. We are patient. Justice will be done,” Obama told veterans gathered at a convention of the American Legion in Charlotte, North Carolina.

Obama, who ordered air strikes against the militant group in Iraq and is considering them for Syria, said he would do whatever is necessary to go after those who harm Americans. “Rooting out a cancer like ISIL won’t be easy and it won’t be quick,” he said. ISIL is the acronym the United States uses for Islamic State. Launching air strikes into Syria would add an unpredictable element to a civil war that Obama has taken great pains to stay out of a year after stepping back from attacking the government of Syrian President Bashir al-Assad for using chemical weapons on his own people.

White House spokesman Josh Earnest said there was no plan to coordinate with the Syrian government on how to counter the threat from Islamic State. Syria has appealed for coordination. “As a matter of U.S. policy we have not recognized the Assad regime as the leader of Syria. There are no plans to change that policy and there are no plans to coordinate with the Assad regime as we consider this terror threat,” he said.

Thoughts for a Day