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India: Wal-Mart in talks with Flipkart

 |  September 29, 2016

The Wall Street journal reported that Wal-Mart Stores Inc. is in discussions with Flipkart Ltd., India’s largest e-commerce company by sales, about investing in the startup, according to a person familiar with the situation.

If the two companies find some way to join forces, Wal-Mart could gain a better foothold in Asia’s third-largest economy, a market that has long eluded the world’s largest retailer. It would also give Flipkart much-needed capital and a powerful partner in its battle against Amazon.com Inc. to become the dominant online retailer of the South Asian nation.

A Wal-Mart investment in Flipkart would be in line with a recent shift in the retailer’s e-commerce strategy aimed at remedying years of sluggish online growth and competing with the increasingly formidable Amazon.

Earlier this month, Wal-Mart completed its acquisition of U.S. online discounter Jet.com Inc. for $3.3 billion, the largest-ever purchase of an e-commerce startup.

Full Content: The Wall Street Journal

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