New Delhi: Walmart-backed Flipkart on Tuesday announced the relocation of its holding company from Singapore to India in a strategic move aimed at aligning future growth and public listing plans. The move represents a full circle for the Indian e-commerce brand founded in 2007, which moved its base to Singapore in 2011 to attract global investors and benefit from lower taxes.
In Walmarts broader initiatives, the move seems to be preparatory for an Indian IPO for Flipkart. The shift reflects another trend among Indian startups, which include the fintech firms, Razorpay and Pine Labs, as well as PhonePe, a digital payments platform that also moved its headquarters from Singapore back to India in 2022-an exercise that cost Walmart almost a billion dollars in taxes.
According to Flipkart, this move "represents a natural evolution" to align the company's legal and financial structure to the core operations that remain rooted deeply in India. Flipkart remains a significant player in a highly competitive e-commerce space in India against Amazon.
India's IPO scenario is ever-increasingly favorable, especially with local regulation still opposed to dual listing. The relocation smoothens the domestic path ahead for Flipkart to go public.
Previously, Walmart executives including Dan Bartlett have confirmed plans for listing both Flipkart and PhonePe separately in India soon. The return of Flipkart to its home base is likely not just to assure regulatory ease in an ever-growing digital economy but also greater positive sentiments from investors and public trust.
[Source Credit: Business Recorder]
