Walmart, the world's biggest retailer by sales, bought about
77 percent of home-grown Flipkart for roughly $16 billion in 2018, the biggest
deal in India's e-commerce sector where it competes with US rival Amazon's
local business.
"As we invested we did mention that our plan is to IPO
and that hasn't changed," Walmart Chief Executive Doug McMillon told Indian
newspaper Hindustan Times' Leadership Summit.
Flipkart, based in India's tech hub of Bengaluru, is
preparing for an initial public offering (IPO) overseas as early as 2021, which
could value the firm at up to $50 billion, Reuters has reported previously.
McMillon declined to give details but said both Flipkart and
PhonePe could diversify in a number of ways, including IPOs.
"Flipkart and PhonePe both need funding, they're both
growing so quickly. There's lots of room to invest and we're excited about
being a majority investor, but there is room for other people," McMillon
said.
Flipkart's other investors include China's tech giant
Tencent, US investment firm Tiger Global and US venture capital firm Accel.
PhonePe last week said it would sell a stake to existing
investors for $700 million in a bid to help it fuel growth in a crowded fintech
market where it competes with Alphabet's Google and Alibaba-backed Paytm.
On Thursday, Walmart, which is based in Bentonville,
Arkansas, also said it would triple its exports of Indian-made goods to $10
billion annually by 2027.
It said the company's commitment to more sourcing from India
will include helping develop hundreds of new suppliers in sectors such as food,
pharmaceuticals, consumables and apparel.
India is already among Walmart's top sourcing markets for
products such as jewellery and homeware, with annual exports of about $3
billion.
Flipkart bought Walmart's wholesale business in India
earlier this year.
© Reuters
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