Daily News Digest- 17th Feb'15

Thought of the Day:

Today in History:

Following made the Headlines:

India:

• Feisty Flipkart's Appetite for Funds Remains Ravenous: Internet retailer Flipkart has begun preparations for an encore to its mammoth fundraising exercise of last year and is looking to (₹10,500 crore) raise $1.7 billion in the coming months, four people familiar with its thinking have told ET. The Bengaluru-based firm, which created a record in India's startup funding history last year by mopping up $1.9 billion in three rounds of fundraising, is looking at a valuation of around $15 billion in the latest funding round that two of the people cited above said would be anchored by its biggest investor, US-based Tiger Global Management. Tiger could invest up to $700 million in several tranches, these sources said. A so-called “handshake agreement“ had been reached between Flipkart and the New York-based firm that had been sealed during the recent visit of its partner, Lee Fixel, said these sources. “It (the fundraising) is being considered,“ said a person directly familiar with the plan, adding that the amount being talked about was in the “ballpark“ of $1.7 billion.

• TaxiForSure Founders to Hand Keys to Ola Post Deal: TaxiForSure co-founders Raghunandhan G and Aprameya Radhakrishna may have to step down after the company is merged with larger rival Ola, which, however, is expected to retain the cab aggregator's top management and other employees, according to three persons with direct knowledge of the developments Ola is in an advanced stage of finalising a deal to buy TaxiForSure at an estimated $200 million (₹1,250 crore) in stock, as it sets to take on the heavilyfunded Uber for dominance of India's taxi aggregation market. The deal is expected to close later this week. “The deal is being signed at about $200 million in mostly stock-swap with a swapping ratio of about one Ola share for seven TaxiForSure shares,“ an investor in TaxiForSure said. The merger is essentially being driven by investors in the two companies to form a strong taxi alliance against Uber.Ola and TaxiForSure will continue to operate as separate brands, at least for a while -as Flipkart did with Myntra and Naspers' Ibibo with redbus, according to one person aware of the developments. The deal will give Ola -which has at least 3,200 employees and operates in 67 cities -a ready workforce of 1,500 trained call-centre, onboarding and operations executives, adding muscle and reducing the time the company will need for further expansion. “After the transition period is over, TaxiForSure founders -who will be mostly paid in cash -are likely to exit the company . That is the agreement,“ the TaxiForSure investor said. Raghunandhan, CEO, and Radhakrishna, director, each own 5.5% in the company.The transition, or merger, is expected to take 6-18 months to complete.

• Punit Renjen Appointed Global CEO of Deloitte: Punit Renjen, the chairman of the board of Deloitte US, has been appointed as the new chief executive officer of Deloitte Global (Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu), the first India-born senior executive to head one of the Big Four consultancies. “Thank you for the trust you have placed in me and you have my commitment to serve the global network. I will do my best to serve the global network.....“ Renjen wrote in an e-mail to all global directors and partners last Friday. Renjen will replace Barry Salzberg as the global CEO from June 1, when the firm's financial year starts. He got 98% of the 5,400 votes to become the global chief executive officer, according to a separate mail sent to all employees on Monday afternoon. Deloitte LLP, the US member firm, recorded $14.91 billion in revenue in the year ended May 31, 2014.

• Dilip Shanghvi Diversifies to Expand his Business: Dilip Shantilal Shanghvi, the world's richest pharma tycoon and Sun Pharma managing director, is increasingly expanding his business empire into new and diverse areas, making big investments in areas such as renewable energy and payment banking. This weekend, Shanghvi announced a ₹1,400-crore investment to pick up 23% stake in ailing renewable energy company Suzlon through his personal investment firm Dilip Shanghvi Family & Associates (DSA). Earlier this month, Shanghvi applied for licence to run a payment bank, a differentiated bank that can accept deposits up ₹1 lakh from individuals but to ` can't lend money .

• Infy to buy California’s Panaya for $ 200 mn: In line with the strategy laid out by its Chief Executive and Managing Director Vishal Sikka, Infosys on Monday said it would buy Panaya, which provides automation technology, in an all- cash deal of $ 200 million (about ₹ 1,244 crore). The company said it was expecting all the senior management and employees of Panaya to join. They would report to Abdul Razack, senior vice- president and head ( analytics and big data). The valuation is six times Panaya’s revenues, Infosys said, adding it was a good buy considering the “ tremendous piece of technology” Panaya brought to the table. Subject to customary conditions, the transaction is likely to close before March 31. This will be the Bengaluru- based information technology services company’s second largest acquisition so far. The largest was of Zurich, Switzerlandheadquartered management consulting firm Lodestone for $ 345 million (₹ 1,930 crore) in September 2012.

• Maruti bets on new models to keep edge: Suzuki’s ‘ KitnaDetiHai’ brand campaign captured the imagination of the consumer. It highlighted a national obsession with fuel economy, and back then, Maruti was the last word in making cars with low running costs. So, losing the lead in fuel efficiency over the years to a clutch of rivals such as Tata Motors, Chevrolet, Hyundai and most recently Honda, could not have been good for Maruti’s brand image. Five years after the campaign, Maruti has embarked on a drive to make sure it never again falls behind in fuel efficiency. The first leg of this strategy was the launch of the Ciaz sedan in October last year, which beat the Honda City by asmall margin to emerge as India’s most fuel- efficient car at26.2 kmpl ( diesel variant). The next legofthestrategy will take the mileage ceiling up by a wide margin.

• A $100,000 Space Odyssey on XCor's Luxury Rocket Plane, Anyone?: A few Indians have booked their tickets in a passenger spacecraft that will blast them into space, 100 km beyond earth's gravity , to a spot from where one can see the curvature of our planet, shelling out about $100,000, ₹62 lakh.or ` Xcor Aerospace, the US firm that is developing the tourist rocket plane, has tied up with Mumbaibased Fortpoint Automotive to woo more Indians to take its space tours, expected to take off next year. “We have sold over 300 tickets worldwide, including a few to Indians,“ said Peter Van Rooy, global sales manager at Xcor Space Expeditions. “In front of the passenger and above there is total blackness, underneath one will see the curvature of the earth,“ he said. Citing confidentiality reasons, Rooy did not disclose the names of the Indians who have booked seats for the point-to-point one-hour flight from California.

• Hitachi eyes Rs 11,000 crore turnover in FY 2015, to hire 3,000: Japanese industrial solutions giant Hitachi is targeting a turnover of around Rs 11,000 crore (210 billion yen) in FY 2015 from India and will hire around 3,000 people to expand its business here. "Hitachi will contribute to the medium and long-term development of Indian society through the social innovation business which integrates cutting-edge IT and infrastructure technologies developed over many years, and strive to expand consolidated revenues in India in FY 2015 to 210 billion yen," Hitachi said in a statement. The company that currently has 31 business bases and over 10,000 employees in India, further said it "is planning to increase the number of group employees in India in FY 2015 to approximately 13,000." It will also continue its plan and implement investments totalling 70 billion yen (around Rs 3,670 crore) over the four years from FY 2012 to FY 2015, the statement added.

• Walmart to set up 15 cash & carry stores in Andhra Pradesh in 5 years: Retail giant Walmart is planning to open 15 cash-and-carry stores in Andhra Pradesh in the next five years, the state government said today. This was stated by President and CEO of Walmart India Krishna Iyer during a meeting with Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu here. This followed Naidu's meeting with David Cheesewright, President and CEO of Walmart International, at the World Economic Forum in Davos last month, a government release said. Iyer informed the Chief Minister that Cheesewright had asked him to meet Naidu and unveil Walmart India's plans for Andhra Pradesh. Iyer thanked Naidu for introducing the single- desk policy and 21-day clearance plan and said it will make the investment environment conducive in the state.

• Safilo launches 'Fossil's' eyewear collection in India: Eyewear specialist Safilo and US-based watchmaker Fossil today launched the 'Fossil's' eyewear collection in India. The launch of the eyewear range in the country mark its into entry into the Asian market, Safilo said in a statement. 'Fossil's' eyewear will be available in India in six different ranges. "The eyewear collection merges modern details with an authentic vintage aesthetic, featuring unique and timeless design," the company said. Italian eyewear manufacturer Safilo's portfolio encompasses brands like Hugo, Boss, Banana Republic, Polaroid, Gucci and Pierre Cardin, among others.

• Dynamatic to be Single Source Airbus Supplier: French plane maker Airbus Monday said it has signed a contract with Dynamatic Technologies to be the single source supplier of flap track beams for its widebodied A330 planes, underscoring its encouragement of the Modi government’s Make in India campaign. Flap track beams are guide rails on which the wing flaps that guide the direction, speed and balance of an aircraft move. The Airbus-Dynamatic contract, which two sources confirmed as worth over $150 million is Airbus’ biggest after its pact with stateowned Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd. (HAL) to make forward passenger doors for its A320 planes. “We are really encouraged by the new government. It is opening up prospects of growth in the supply chain for Airbus,” said Olivier Cauquil, senior vice president for procurement at Airbus. Last year, Airbus and Dynamatic had signed a memorandum of understanding for the Bangalore-based company to become a tier-1 supplier for the beams to Airbus. It already is a single source supplier for the beams on the A320s, Airbus’ most popular product in the world. 

• AB InBev to Go Solo in India: Anheuser-Busch InBev, the world's largest brewer, has exited its joint venture with Ravi Jaipuria's RJ Corp to begin independent operations in the country through its wholly-owned entity Crown Beers. The dissolution of the JV is a strategic decision by the Belgian owner of Budweiser, Corona and Stella Artois brands to grow its business in India through additional brand investments and capacity expansion, a joint statement issued by the companies said. Following completion of this transaction and a transitional period, staff and operations will transfer to Crown Beers, the statement added. “We see long-term opportuni ties to grow our business in India. We plan to grow our premium brands and give consumers increased access to our portfolio of beers,“ Mi chel Doukeris, AB InBev zone president for Asia-Pacific, said in a statement.

• Future in Talks to Buy Birlas' Wet Wipes Brand: Future Consumer Enterprise is close to buying wet wipes brand Kara from the Aditya Birla Group, a person with direct knowledge of the matter said, as the Kishore Biyani-owned company works on its strategy to grow annual . 10,000 crore sales five-fold to ` in the next five years. “It's a small deal,“ said the person, who didn't disclose the financial terms. The seven-year-old brand is owned by Birla Cellulose. It has an annual capacity to produce more than 87 million wipes, which are mainly sold at pharmacy and modern retail stores. The brand also has institutional clients such as Jet Airways and hotel chains Taj and Four Seasons. Kara, which is currently into premium skin, baby and hand wipes, will be beefed up by the Future Group to offer the entire range of paper products and disposables, the person said.

International:

• Japan's Old Flip-phones Soldier on While Smartphones Shrink: Japanese shipments of traditional flip-phones rose in 2014 for the first time in seven years while smartphone shipments fell, highlighting Japanese consumers' tenacious attachment to the familiar and typically less expensive older models. Flip-phone shipments rose 5.7% to 10.58 million in 2014, data from market researcher MM Research Institute shows. Smartphone shipments fell 5.3% to 27.7 million, down for a second year. Users in Japan pay some of the highest smartphone fees among developed nations, the telecommunications ministry says, while flipphone rates are among the lowest.Many Japanese accustomed to years of deflation are content with oldstyle flip-phones offering voice calling, email and in most cases basic Internet services. Japanese electronics companies Panasonic Corp and NEC Corp have pulled out of the consumer smartphone business, unable to compete with dominant brands Apple Inc and Samsung Electronics Co Ltd. They still make flip-phones, though, competing in a crowded market with Fujitsu Ltd and Sharp Corp, among others.

• Start-up Shopping App Mallzee Partners with Samsung: Mallzee, a personal shopping application, has teamed with Samsung UK and Ireland on a yearlong partnership aimed at promoting discount shopping on the smartphone. Founded in 2012 by the 27-year-old Edinburgh-based Cally Russell, Mallzee has raised 600,000 pounds, or $922,185 at current exchange, from a group of angel investors. It incorporates easy swipe interaction, offering shoppers access to more than 100 fashion brands and retailers. The names range from Asos.com, H&M, Topshop, Zara and Urban Outfitters to DKNY, Lacoste, Michael Kors, and Paul Smith. The app allows the user to create his or her style feed, and there is a cost alert feature that notifies shoppers once there is a price reduction on an item they like.

• Yoox Unveils Chinese Mobile Site: Yoox is going mobile in China. Yoox Group entered China around five years ago, hosting flagship online shopping sites on the mainland for fashion brands such as Emporio Armani. Two years later, the e-tailer launched its own site for Chinese consumers. Now, indicative of the rise of mobile commerce in China, Yoox, under the domain name Yoox.com.cn here, revealed on Monday that it is launching a mobile e-commerce app for its Chinese clientele. “In China, the mobile shopping market is skyrocketing,” said Luca Martines, the Milan-based Yoox Group International Markets director.

• Warburg Pincus to Invest $125M in Indonesia Retail: Warburg Pincus is betting $125 million on the growth of retail in Indonesia. The private equity giant is teaming with real estate firm Nirvana Development to create a joint venture that will “build and develop a best-in-class retail platform in Indonesia,” according to a statement. Pincus has the option to invest another $75 million into the venture, which will put together hypermarket-anchored shopping malls in the island nation’s second- and third-tier cities. The companies intend to “capitalize on the growth potential driven by rapid urbanization, emerging consumption and outsize economic growth in these areas.” The partnership, subject to shareholder approval and expected to close in the second quarter, will expand Nirvana’s operations and be seeded with four operating assets and other projects under development.

• Jason Cater Joins Peter Millar as VP of Design and Merchandising: Jason Cater has joined Peter Millar as vice president of design and merchandising — collection. Cater has 17 years of experience and has been with Ermenegildo Zegna for the past eight where he was vice president of wholesale for Ermenegildo Zegna Sportswear, Shoes, and Leather Goods. Before that, he was the national sales manager at Paul & Shark. “Jason’s experience in the luxury sportswear category will be invaluable to Peter Millar as the company continues to experience considerable growth in the U.S. and internationally,” said Scott Ruerup, president, Peter Millar Collection.

Tech:

• Google now has a Chinese version of its YouTube channel for developers: Google today launched a Chinese language version of its YouTube channel for developers, which features free educational content for learning about developing for the company’s services and technologies. The company’s new channel features original content in Chinese, as well as providing select content from the English Google Developers channel with Simplified Chinese captions. Over time, Google says that more original content will be added to the channel and it will leverage volunteers to help add more Chinese captions to existing English videos.

• Revamped iAnnotate App Launches on Android: Working with PDF documents on an Android device can be a frustrating experience if you’re trying to make edits while on the move. To tap into that market and potentially alleviate some of those frustrations, Branchfire has today announced the launch of its iAnnotate app on Android devices. As a new listing and 1.0 release in the Play Store, this version is a clean break from its predecessor which was released a little over two years ago. The new app no longer holds the $9.99 price tag of previous versions and is available for free. iAnnotate for Android allows users to read, mark up and share PDF documents as you might expect, but the most notable update is to the interface, which has been streamlined for ease of use.

• $1.75 Million in Bitcoin Stolen from Chinese Exchange Bter: Even as Bitcoin is starting to shake things up in the US, all is not well in the cryptocurrency world. China-based Bitcoin exchange Bter was hacked on Valentine’s Day and $1.75 million worth of Bitcoin was stolen. The company hasn’t revealed much about the breach, except that 7,170 BTC was taken from its cold (offline) wallet on February 14 via a single transaction (link) and that the platform is suspending operations until further notice. The company has offered a bounty of 720 BTC – about $170,000 – for the retrieval of the stolen currency. It says it will arrange withdrawals of unaffected funds at a later date.

• LG's New Smartwatch is a Stylish All-metal Affair: LG is set to unveil the Watch Urbane, its latest Android Wear smartwatch that features a round stainless steel body and full circular Plastic OLED (P-OLED) display at this year’s Mobile World Congress next month. Aimed at fashion-conscious gadget aficionados, the Watch Urbane looks more like a traditional timepiece and features a narrower bezel than the sporty G Watch R, and comes in polished silver and gold finishes. It also has a natural leather strap that can be replaced with any 22mm wide band to suit the wearer’s style. Under the hood, it’s quite similar to the Watch R. It runs Android Wear on its 1.3-inch display with a 1.2GHz Snapdragon 400 processor, 4GB memory and 512MB RAM, and a 410mAh battery that allows for just about two days of use on a single charge on the previous model. It also features a photoplethysmography (PPG) sensor to measure heart rate and average pulse during workouts.