April 20, 2016 - Alibaba setting up team in India to look at merger and acquisitions opportunities

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Invite Friends Blog Sree Vijaykumar From the Editor's Desk Why do we NOT feel the GDP growth in India right now? This article tries to address this question through the MSME story. India has over 45 million MSMEs (micro, small and medium enterprises). Financial data on these are hard to come by, but the RBI recently released financial averages of over 2.3 lakh small enterprises that are registered with the Ministry of Corporate Affairs (there are 15 lakh companies registered overall, only 6000 are listed in the stock markets). What we read about in the media is mostly about these 6000 odd large listed companies. While sales growth in listed firms dropped from 9.1% to 4.7% to 1.4% in the past 3 years, that of SMEs was 13.3%, 8.7% and 12% respectively. Net profits showed an even more contrasting trend, where SMEs showed growth (16%, 23.6%, 12.3%), while listed firms had negative growth (-2%, -5.1%, -0.7%). MSME's contribute 35% of India's GDP and are probably doing some of the heavy lifting right now - Comment Digital Alibaba setting up team in India to look at merger and acquisitions opportunities In a sign of things to come, Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba has begun the proce Announcing the Bengaluru edition of Techcircle Startup 2016; registrations open now The Bengaluru edition of Techcircle Startup will provide a comprehensive insight on the startup ecosystem in and around Bengaluru bringing together cutting-edge and disruptive early-stage startups, current and potential investors, angels, seed funds, incubators, accelerators & mentors, along with many of India’s most active VC/PE funds. Digital India not a third world country, it's leading the digital race: Paytm's Vijay Shekhar Sharma At the Reliance Mutual Fund strategy meet, Vijay Shekhar Sharma spoke about digital India and what to expect ahead. Digital Bike taxi startup Rapido raises funding from Hero MotoCorp’s Pawan Munjal, Google’s Rajan Anandan, Ankit Nagori, others Bangalore-based Roppen Transportation Services Pvt Ltd said on Tuesday it has raised an undisclosed amount in a pre-Series A round of funding from investors including Hero MotoCorp Ltd chairman Pawan Munjal and Google India managing director Rajan Anandan. People Group CEO Anupam Mittal, Smile Group founder Harish Bahl, former Flipkart chief business officer Ankit Nagori and Carnation Auto co-founder Kunal Khattar also invested in this round, the startup said in a statement. AdvantEdge Partners, Astarc Ventures and Tesellate Ventures invested, too. Advt: The Power of a Great Digital Hospitality Experience A tsunami of game-changing digital disruptors has swept into the hospitality industry, raising the stakes in delivering the supreme guest experience. Join Chinmai Sharma, Chief Revenue Officer, Taj Hotels Resorts and Palaces, at Adobe Symposium to get insights into how Taj Hotels plan to bring alive experiences directly from each of their fantastic hotels to screens around the world with breathtaking velocity. Complimentary Registration (for TradeBriefs subscribers).   Digital E-pharmacy startup 1mg gets $15 million in funding from Maverick, Sequoia India 1mg, a startup that lets people order medicine and diagnostics online, announced a series B round of US$15 million today. The round was led by Maverick Capital Ventures and included previous investors Sequoia Capital and Omidyar Ventures. This brings its total disclosed funding to US$21 million.   Digital Fame Digital to raise $20 million in three months, scale up content Plans to increase regional language feed, enhance tech Digital YourNest Angel Fund invests in fashion and store discovery platform Fashalot Fashalot, a location-based fashion and store discovery mobile platform has raised an undisclosed amount of funding in a round led by YourNest Angel Fund and investor Rajul Garg.   Retail Reckitt Benckiser to have profit-sharing arrangement with its India Ecommerce staff The step is aimed at fuelling profitable growth and giving employees “ownership”, RB South Asia regional HR director Udayan Dutt said. Retail Are we ready for retail? ZARA’s impending retail space is truly an incredible thing. The Spanish clothing giant has leased 50,000 of a heritage building smack in the centre Retail Kishore Biyani goes online, and the watchword is caution The Future Group is looking at more online retail acquisitions, but Kishore Biyani is unsure how much e-commerce can contribute to his business Retail Why cash is still king for Indian consumers Universal acceptance makes cash the preferred choice. But most consumers use other modes as well Telecom 4G war: Vodafone Pug vs Airtel Girl The fight for ad space on your television screens issued by leading telecom players Airtel and Vodafone for their 4G offering is just a precursor to the big war. With more players poised to enter the arena, is the player with the biggest ad budget going to win?   Telecom Telecom industry urges slashing of spectrum usage charges Vodafone India has welcomed recent initiatives by the government to harmonize spectrum in select bands and to reduce the subscriber usage charges (SUC... Telecom Panasonic expects to double revenues from mobile phones on the back of 4G, aggressive launches According to internal data, Panasonic had around 3% market share at the end of just ended fiscal year when it sold 1.5 million smartphones. Telecom The History of Telecom Spectrum in India: The 900MHz Auctions Trai reiterated its view on this suggesting that the all the spectrum that is available in the frequency should be put to auction, which is planned in July. Finance What is ICICI bank's secret to wooing so many startups? ICICI Bank on Tuesday also joined the startup bandwagon by announcing tie ups with 3 mobile based technology startups with whom the bank plans to integrate its own platform and offer innovative services to its customers. Finance Is slower growth in trade the new normal? In the recent past, gap between the volume of trade and services has not only narrowed, in fact growth in trade and services volume has been lower than the GDP growth in 2015 and is predicted to be lower in 2016 as well. Finance Sebi plans shorter gap between IPO and listing Sebi plans to reduce the gap to 3 days from the current 6; move will help save cost and time when launching an initial public offering Finance Separate morality from NPA clean-up: Raghuram Rajan Raghuram Rajan said the issue of bad loans gets ‘loaded with a lot of morality’ and it is necessary to keep criminal liability separate for putting the stressed assets back on track Software How tech firms are fueling big-ticket office leasing deals? Nine million square feet absorbed across nine major cities in the first quarter of the current calendar year Software Following the footsteps of global tech giants, TCS does away with Bell curve appraisals Last month, ET reported that Bengaluru-based Wipro was also experimenting with different ways to do away with the bell curve. Software TCS trumps Infosys on incremental revenues despite slower growth Incremental revenue has become one of the most important benchmarks to track in India's $160 bn IT industry as it reflects a co's competitive strength. Software PC shipments dip 10% in EMEA region in Q1'16, says Gartner Personal computer shipments in Europe, the Middle East and Africa (EMEA) declined by 10 per cent to 19.5 million units in the first quarter this year, preliminary results by Gartner showed. Ecommerce Snapdeal to enter FMCG market, will deliver products within four hours in Gurgaon Snapdeal is betting big on FMCG products to drive recurrent purchase from shoppers, and has started four-hour assured delivery of these products in Gurgaon. Ecommerce Amazon India celebrates many quirks of the Indian consumer with #WeIndians The campaign effortlessly ties back these quirks to the brand’s promise of 100% Original Products, Easy Returns, Fast and On-time Delivery and many other customer centric benefits to inspire trust in the brand. Ecommerce Betaout raises $1.5 million (about Rs 10 crore) from a clutch of investors including Beenext and Stanford Angels Betaout will use this round of funding for customer acquisition in the Indian market and expansion in other Asian markets as well as for hiring professionals. Ecommerce Wages dry up at startups on back of funds drought; pay for fresh hires in Ola, Uber dips An Ola spokesperson said: “We continue to grow fast and hire top talent to be part of our mission of building mobility for a billion people.” Franchise Advice from 2 newbie Ella Baché franchise owners about opening up shop Established in Paris in 1938, Ella Baché is one of the leading skincare and beauty franchises in Australia. Franchise Are you using mobile workforce management in your business to improve communication and retail execution? Click inside to read Trust Me, Mobile Workforce Management Will Change Your Franchise HR Resource crunch hits startups in Port City Even as the AP government is bringing out policies to attract startups to Vizag, the existing ones are facing a daunting task in securing human resources in various IT domains in the Port City.   HR First Minutes are Critical in New-Employee Orientation Employee orientation programs ought to be less about the company and more about the employee, according to new research by Daniel M. Cable, Francesca Gino, and Bradley R. Staats.   HR PHDCCI, PHFI inks pact for skill development in health sector Pointing out the major constraints faced by healthcare professionals, the chamber emphasised that this sector is suffering with overworked professionals. HR Bengaluru anger: Need PF funds to tide between jobs Police said they had to resort to lathicharge and fire teargas shells to disperse violent protesters. Logistics A good monsoon can help post near 8% GDP growth: Harihar Krishnamoorthy, FirstRand Bank If we get a good monsoon, which is the prediction, it will be a positive from inflation, demand and interest rate point of view , said Krishnamoorthy. Logistics Service tax litigations on rise due to GST absence in India Healthcare services are defined in a restrictive manner to cover services by way of diagnosis, treatment and care and no exemption is available for services offered for aesthetic / beauty enhancement purposes. Logistics Air India flies into operating profit first time since merger, bristling with Rs 8-10 crore profits in FY 16 A senior executive told the paper that the national carrier's loss would be limited to ~INR 2,600-2,800 crore, significantly lower than in FY15 when it stood at Rs. 5,574.47 crore. Logistics Rat disrupts Air India Dreamliner 787 Flight from Melborne to Delhi, 6 hours into the flight, this is forthe 3rd time in a month For the third time in a month services on one particular Air India Dreamliner aircraft have been disrupted due to a rat sighting. Construction LIC Housing Finance targets 18% growth in total portfolio for FY17 The company reported a fourth quarter profit of Rs 448 crore, up 18.5% compared to last year. Construction Panel moves Hyderabad HC for CBI inquiry into Waqf property encroachment According to Abid Rasool Khan, Chairman of SMC, the commission has moved the court after it failed to get response from both the state governments on .. Construction Realty player Primarc to invest Rs 3 crore in driver solutions app DriversKart The startup proposes to use the fund to upgrade its technology, improve driver's training, expand the team as well as for marketing and business devel.. Construction CM Raghubar Das announces Housing scheme for BPL widows in Jharkhand Chief minister Raghubar Das on Monday announced a new widow housing scheme on the lines of Indira Awaas Yojana. Marketing Amazon leverages Indian quirks in new ad campaign : Report The campaign, conceptualized and executed by Orchard Advertising, highlights the advantages of shopping on Amazon.in Marketing Kumbh Mela, India's biggest marketing opportunity : Report Apart from connecting with consumers, its a primer on heartland marketing, says Ashish Bhasin. Marketing Chat Bots, VR/AR, Drones; When marketing marries technology : Report MUMBAI:  From Tata Motors taking India on its first ever virtual drive using Google Cardboard, Facebook allowing brands to message users using chat bots, to drones covering live gig at concerts --the  last few months have been exciting in brand land.  By themselves these events maybe little pockets of wonder, but they also point towards a larger paradigm shift in the way products will be hawked, how methods to attract consumers have evolved and are evolving.  | Chat Bots, VR/AR, Drones; When marketing marries technology | Indian Television Dot Com Marketing Indian companies focus more on digital investments in Marketing and IT globally: Survey A recent PwC digital IQ survey indicates that Indian companies are focusing more on digital investments in marketing and IT compared to their global counterparts, Politics Bengal's 'Syndicate Raj': A Left Legacy That TMC Has Inherited Rahul Gandhi has promised at a rally in Murshidabad that if the Congress-Left combine comes to power in Bengal it will end the syndicate raj. Gandhi sidesteps the inconvenient truth that the syndi Politics ‘Insaniyat, Kashmiriyat and Jamhooriat’: PM Modi invokes Vajpayee; praises Mehbooba Katra (J-K): Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday invoked the famous quote of former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee, 'Insaniyat, Kashmiriyat and Jamhooriat', as he pitched for taking ahead the growth story of Jammu and Kashmir. "People of Jammu and Kashmir had enormous faith in Atal Bihari Vajpayee. Very few leaders commanded such respect. He … Politics In Kupwara, the Injured Languish in Hospitals, the Shutdown Continues, and the Government Orders Yet Another Probe In Kupwara, the injured languish in hospitals, the shutdown continues, and the government orders yet another probe. In Vantage. Politics Govt Makes A U-Turn On Kohinoor Diamond Government tonight made a U-turn on the Kohinoor issue saying it will make all efforts to bring back the valued diamond it had said in the Supreme Court was "neither stolen nor forcibly" tak Sports Spinners, Uthappa lift Knight Riders to top of table Another dominant bowling performance followed by another effortless chase led Kolkata Knight Riders to their third win of the season, thrashing Kings XI Punjab by six wickets in Mohali Sports IPL 2016, MI vs RCB: Struggling Mumbai Indians face Royal Challengers Bangalore challenge Mumbai Indians are on a losing streak while Bangalore have won one and lost one out of the two matches so far. Sports Have to improve my landings: Dipa Karmakar Day after winning Rio Olympics berth and first international gold, Dipa Karmakar talks about the road ahead. Sports West Indies Legends call for dissolution of 'obsolete' WICB A host of West Indies legends including Garry Sobers, Vivian Richards, Wes Hall and Andy Roberts have called upon the WICB to dissolve the board, in line with the CARICOM cricket review panel's recommendation Entertainment “Dishoom” could be biggest Indian franchise: John Abraham John Abraham feels that his upcoming film "Dishoom" has the scope of becoming the biggest franchise. Entertainment Was uncomfortable with attention I got as a star: Arvind Swamy Arvind Swamy said, "The attention that came with success was something which made me very uncomfortable. I was not prepared for it." Entertainment Bombay High Court seeks affidavits on ‘Santa Banta’ film The Bombay HC on Monday directed the Maharashtra government, the censor board and the producers to file affidavits over a petition filed against upcoming Bollywood film "Santa Banta Pvt. Ltd.". Entertainment Christopher Walken finds ageing a shock Christopher Walken still feels young and says seeing pictures of himself looking old surprise him as he doesn't picture himself that way. TradeBriefs Publications are read by over 10,00,000 Industry Executives About Us  |  Advertise Privacy Policy    Unsubscribe You are receiving this mail because of your subscription with TradeBriefs. Our mailing address is GF 25/39, West Patel Nagar, New Delhi 110008, India