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image courtesy of Getty Images Flipkart, the Indian e-commerce behemoth, has raised another $3.6 billion (£2.6 billion) ahead of its anticipated stock market debut. The company, which is backed by Walmart, plans to utilize the funds to expand its operations and spend more in its grocery, fashion, and delivery services. The newest round of funding upped the company’s valuation to $37.6 billion dollars. The new price tag is more than double what the American retailer spent three years ago for a controlling interest in Flipkart. “As we serve our consumers, we will focus on speeding growth for millions of small and medium Indian enterprises,” said Flipkart CEO Kalyan Krishnamurthy, adding that the fresh funding would help the company expand. Mr Krishnamurthy added in a corporate statement, “We will continue to invest in new categories and harness made-in-India technologies to revolutionize consumer experiences and establish a world-class supply chain.” Singapore’s government wealth fund GIC, the Canada Pension Plan Investment Board, Japan’s SoftBank, and Walmart spearheaded the fresh round of fundraising. SoftBank, which sold a 20 percent share in Flipkart to Walmart in 2018, is making a comeback with this transaction. Malaysian, Qatari, and Abu Dhabi sovereign wealth funds were among the other investors. The fund-raising comes as the Bengaluru-based firm prepares to list on the stock exchange as early as this year. Walmart bought $16 billion for a 77 percent share in Flipkart in 2018 and later stated that the firm could go public in four years. The Reuters news agency reported in September that Flipkart was planning an initial public offering outside of India as early as this year, with a valuation of up to $50 billion. Since the Walmart acquisition, the company has expanded its online store to include food and furniture. As it competes with Amazon’s Indian operation and local rival Reliance Industries, which is owned by Asia’s richest person Mukesh Ambani, Flipkart has increased its warehousing capacity. The fast adoption of smartphones and low-cost mobile data plans has fueled a surge of online start-ups selling everything from groceries to vacations in India. Several of the country’s largest digital start-ups are on the verge of listing their stock on the stock exchange. Zomato, India’s largest food delivery app, is set to launch later this month, while PayTM, a payments provider, is slated to go public by the end of the year. India Amazon’s Jeff Bezos/nRead More

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