THE ECONOMIC · PDF fileSachin Bansal and Binny Bansal, completed an investment round of $360...
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BANGALORE | 18 PAGES | . `3.50 ONLY FRIDAY, 28 FEBRUARY 2014 Airtel Not Planning Any Buyouts in India: Vittal BUSINESS OF BRANDS 5 An Unusual Week in the Life of Elon Musk WORLD VIEW15 Mid-term Funds a Better Bet Amid High Yields MARKETS+FINANCE 11 BENNETT, COLEMAN & CO. LTD. T HE E CONOMIC T IMES WWW.ECONOMICTIMES.COM OUR BUREAUS BANGALORE | NEW DELHI E Bay has acquired another large slice of India’s second- largest online retailer, a pre- cursor many believe to a full pur- chase of the Delhi-based Snapdeal. By leading an investment of $133.77 million (about . `830 crore), the US-based company is betting that the fast-growing Snapdeal will help it compete against the likes of Flipkart and Amazon in one of the fastest-growing markets for ecom- merce in the world. People familiar with the negotia- tions said the investment values Snapdeal at $650-750 million (about . `4,000-4,700 crore). eBay is estimat- ed to own between 35% and 40% of the company, and founders Kunal Bahl and Rohit Bansal under 20% together. eBay and Snapdeal de- clined to divulge financial details. Jay Lee, senior vice-president and managing director for Asia-Pacific at eBay, said accelerating growth in India and other emerging markets is a core strategy for the company. “We continue to invest in Snapdeal due to its complementary business model, good management team and strong brand,” he said. The eBay-led investment is the lat- est transaction in India’s booming online retail sector, which is esti- mated to grow in size to $56 billion (almost . `3.5 lakh crore) in 2023 from $2 billion (. `12,400 crore) now. Less than a month ago, fashion portal Myntra raised $50 million (. `310 crore) from the Azim Premji family office and other investors. In Octo- ber last year, Flipkart, founded by Sachin Bansal and Binny Bansal, completed an investment round of $360 million (. `2,200 crore), which valued the Bangalore-based frm at $1.6 billion (over . `9,900 crore). eBay, which is a distant second to Amazon in its home market of US, is expected to start the process of consolidating its ownership of Snapdeal within a couple of months, said people with knowl- edge of the discussions.“It will take 12-18 months for the process to be completed as they will need to buy out shares of numerous investors,” said the person. eBay Snaps Up Another Chunk of Snapdeal Leads . `830-cr funding into ecommerce company; Buyout maybe on cards Snapdeal Raised . `50m Last Year8 Learn to Take on Global Challenges, Modi Tells Traders Gives business a reformist message; says govt must form strategies for each state separately they fear loss of revenues if the existing levies were replaced. With the general elections fast approaching, Modi also laid out his economic views separately at a conference on the Indian economy later in the day. “Speedy, yet sustainable, eco- nomic growth that is inclusive of all is the need of the hour,” he told a crowd of businessmen, bankers, economists and diplo- mats. As India is vast, he said there are no tailor-made solutions for the problems of the entire coun- try. “The govern- ment must identi- fy the strengths of each state and de- vise strategies ac- cordingly,” he said in an hour-long speech. But for that the prime minister and chief ministers must act as a team. “This is not rocket sci- ence. The harmony is missing in decisions.” Modi also revealed his plans to accommodate women in boost- ing growth. “Women form 50% of the population, but they as- sume that they have no role in contributing to GDP growth.” The truth is they play a huge role, be it in animal husbandry, healthcare or handicrafts. Modi spoke in Hindi, which disappointed at least a few for- eign nationals — people from 25 countries attended the meeting, according to organisers of the event — in the audience. OUR BUREAU NEW DELHI Narendra Modi, the BJP’s can- didate for prime minister, said on Thursday India’s traders and grocery store owners must learn to compete with large modern stores and online retail- ers, comments that could signal a change in a key economic prin- ciple of the party. The BJP had opposed the gov- ernment’s decision in late 2012 to allow foreign supermarkets to open in India due to the threat it says the move poses to mil- lions of kirana store owners and small traders who form the crux of the party’s support. In a separate speech, Modi laid out a reformist agenda and promised policy implementa- tion to an audience comprising investors, businessmen and economists. But Modi stopped short of commenting on wheth- er he supports or opposes for- eign investment in retail. “We should not worry about the chal- lenges from global trade,” he told a gathering of the Confeder- ation of All India Traders. Rath- er, he said, small traders should emphasise on quality of their products to compete better and could enter into contracts with big online retailers to create “virtual malls in small shops”. Earlier this month, the newly- elected BJP government of Ra- jasthan rolled back the decision to allow foreign investment in retail. More than half of the 28 state governments are against the policy. Modi, the chief minister of Gujarat, said he also favoured introducing a nationwide goods and services tax (GST), a long- pending reform expected to bring a uniform market, reduce costs of businesses and in- crease government revenue. Many states, including BJP- ruled ones, have resisted GST as Subrata Roy Missing from Mother’s Bedside When Police Called on Him Sahara India chief Subrata Roy, who claimed ex- emption from appearing before SC to attend to his mother, was missing from her bedside when the police came knocking on Thursday. Companies7 llllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllll IT Firms Seek Design School Talent for New Verticals Like Cloud IT firms are making a beeline to design schools as the focus verticals such as product design and emerging technologies like mobile and cloud gather traction in India. Career & Business Life 10 llllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllll BPCL Raises 175 Million Swiss Francs Via Offshore Bonds BPCL has raised around 175 million Swiss francs by selling offshore bonds bearing a coupon rate of 2.988% and maturing in December 2019. Markets + Finance11 Inside story VISHAL DUTTA AHMEDABAD F or any pedigreed company or in- dividual donors looking to get their names on a building at the Indian Institute of Management in Ahmedabad (IIM-A), the country’s top-ranked business school, now’s the time to do so. Naming rights for various buildings on the campus are on offer, as the institute tries to em- ulate a fund-raising method that’s well established overseas. Back home, the Indian Institutes of Technology and the Indian School of Business are among educational es- tablishments that use this method to drum up contributions. “Yes, we are in the process of imple- menting infrastructure naming rights,” said IIM-A director Ashish Nanda, a Harvard Law School profes- sor who was appointed last year after a global hunt that took nearly 10 months. He said that Arvind Sahay, a profes- sor at the school, was heading the pro- ject. Big education institutions such as Harvard Business School receive a substantial portion of their revenue from naming rights. “If we can have a large corpus, then this may also result in the decrease of student fees,” said an official associ- ated with the plan. IIM-A rights will be awarded for a fixed tenure and the terms will vary. Amongst IIMs, the Ahmedabad school will be the first to give out naming rights in an organised for- mat, said the person. Harvard Business School’s 2013 an- nual report showed revenue of $587 million, of which 31% came from publishing, 25% from executive edu- cation tuition, 18% from MBA tuition and fees, 2% from housing, rents and others and 24% from endowment dis- tribution and gifts. All are Welcome at IIM-A Naming Ceremony Following global cues, premier business school offers building naming rights in order to drum up funds CR SUKUMAR & SABARINATH M HYDERABAD | MUMBAI Hyderabad-based infrastructure com- pany Ramky Infrastructure is in nego- tiations with private equity fund Mor- gan Stanley Infrastructure Partners and the structured investment group of the Ajay Piramal group to sell three of its road assets to raise funds and cut debts. The company plans to raise . `900 crore from the sale of assets. These as- sets include Ramky Elsamex, Sehore Kosmi Tollways and NAM Expressway. The infrastructure company has ap- pointed ICICI Securities as the invest- ment banker for the transaction. “Ramky Infrastructure is at an ad- vanced stage of discussions with the in- vestors for selling three road assets. The due diligence process has already started and the company expects to con- clude the deal with the investors over the next couple of months. IL&FS has agreed to sell its 50% stake in NAM Ex- pressway,” said a person with direct knowledge of the deal. Other infrastructure sector investors such as IDFC Alternatives have also been approached. Potential investors have recently undertaken due diligence of the NAM Expressway project in Hyd- erabad. While Ramky Infra and Ajay Pi- ramal group declined to comment, ICI- CI Securities and Morgan Stanley were unavailable for comments. Ramky Infra Looks to Sell Three Road Assets WAR OF WORDS RIL issues strong denial as AAP claims UPA turned blind eye to report from Indian diplomats about non-descript Singapore firm transferring cash to Ambani cos case earlier this month alleging that gas prices are being raised because of crony capitalism in- volving Ambani, oil minister Vee- rappa Moily and other politic- ians. AAP kept up its attack on ernment saying that Biometrix Marketing, which operates from just one room that is mostly closed, had invested Rs 6,350 crore in India. Nearly half the amount went to RGTIL, about Rs 1,850 crore to Reliance Ports and the re- maining Rs 200 crore to Reliance Utilities Ltd, according to the copy of the diplomatic corre- spondence distributed by AAP. “Thus it is absolutely clear that Reliance is laundering its ill-got- ten profits in India through Sin- gapore (particularly from KG ba- sin gas) and depositing the same into accounts of Mr Mukesh Am- bani. Yet this UPA government has not even bothered to investi- gate this and arrest Mr Ambani, and has instead showered him with one benefit after another,” AAP said. Reliance vehemently denied this. “The allegations that ill-gotten laundered money or profits have either been made or that these have been deposited in the ac- counts of Mr Mukesh Ambani through Singapore or otherwise are false and are treated by us with the contempt that they de- serve,” the company said. Reliance with a statement that said: “UPA showers benefits to Reliance: one after the other.” Bhushan distributed copies of a note from the Indian High Com- mission in August 2011 to the gov- OUR BUREAU NEW DELHI Arvind Kejriwal’s Aam Aadmi Party intensified its attack on Mukesh Ambani, accusing him of being involved in a Rs 6,530- crore money-laundering oper- ation that deserved investigation and arrest of India’s richest man, provoking a fierce denial from Reliance Industries, the first time it has reacted so strongly to the barrage of allegations levelled against the company and its chairman. Aam Aadmi Party leader Prash- an Bhushan issued a statement saying the United Progressive Al- liance government had turned a blind eye to commercial intelli- gence from Indian diplomats in Singapore seeking the investiga- tion of a company with practical- ly no income transferring large sums of money to firms such as Reliance Gas Transportation In- frastructure Ltd (RGTIL) con- trolled by the Ambani family. Reliance said in an emailed statement it was the victim of an “orchestrated, politically moti- vated campaign”. AAP, during its 49-day Delhi state government term, had or- dered the filing of a corruption Now, AAP Accuses RIL of Money Laundering BJP’S RETAIL RETHINK? Kunal Bahl and Rohit Ban- sal have managed to posi- tion Snapdeal as the big- gest rival to Flipkart. Meanwhile, Bahl still finds time to send out irreverent tweets, reports Biswarup Gooptu.5 Kunal Bahl: An Irreverent Businessman Jabong $100m $150-200m 2014 Rocket Internet, CDC, European Founders Fund Myntra $50m OVER $200m 2014 Premji Invest, Sofina, Tiger Global, Accel Partners, IDG Ventures, Kalaari Capital Sale @ E-tailers Top Investments in Online Retail Flipkart $360m $1.6 billion 2013 Naspers, Tiger Global, Dragoneer, Morgan Stanley, Sofina, Vulcan Capital, Accel Partners, Iconiq Capital Snapdeal $133.8m $650-750m 2014 eBay Inc, Nexus, Kalaari Capital, Bessemer, Intel Capital, Saama Capital, Recruit Holdings, ru-Net Amt. Raised Valuation Est. Investors We should not worry about the challenges from global trade NARENDRA MODI Do pre-elections opinion polls sway voters? www.economictimes.com Will recent developments hurt private investment in oil & gas? TODAY’S QUESTION 18% YES 76% NO 6% CAN’T SAY Congress V-P Rahul Gandhi is likely to carry out ‘padayatra’ in select parts of the country, highlighting the theme—“economic progress with social harmony”—in the run-up to the Lok Sabha polls, reports Our Political Bureau. 3 Rahul Plans Padayatra On Edit Page Low Growth in FY15 A patchwork of pushy policies can take economic growth only as far as 5.5% in the next financial year, says Bibek Debroy. Sharp political reportage from election hotspots around India. A continuing series, today's focus is on IT capital Bangalore's constituencies. Is Nileka- ni a game changer? 4 ET@Ground Zero INCLUSIVE GROWTH SEE EDIT The Proposal CORPORATES OR individual donors may be allowed to acquire ‘naming rights’ for various infrastructure at IIM-A campus The Infrastructure RIGHTS MAY be allowed for dorms, classrooms, seminar rooms, faculty room, cricket ground What’s in a Name Today’s edition carries CORPORATE DOSSIER (metro only) Manipal Health is close to buy- ing a hospital each in Mumbai and Delhi as part of its expansion plan in the coming six months. The deals will be finalised before May, re- ports Varun Sood from Bangalore. Manipal Health has drawn an out- lay of . `1,200 crore as it closes on its buyout of an existing 250-300 bed hospital each in Mumbai and Delhi, and build four news hospitals, starting August. Two 300-bed hospitals will be set up in Whitefield, Bangalore, while the group will make one new hospital in Delhi and Mumbai.6 Manipal to Buy Two Hospitals One For The Road Assets up for sale are Ramky Elsamex, Sehore Kosmi Toll- ways and NAM Expressway These assets have already started generating revenues Investments in road projects happening in anticipation of good times `2,100 cr Consolidated debt which Ramky Infra plans to retire `500 cr Ajay Piramal group’s investment in Navayuga Road Projects BAD TIME FOR E-COMM-DEPENDENT LOGISTICS COS 6 Some Investors Upbeat on Road Assets8 Fresh Attack on Reliance THE EQUITY of both the investing companies from Singapore is very small compared with the amount invested BOTH INVESTING companies have claimed exemption from filing annual accounts to the Singapore regulator on grounds of small income THE BUSINESS premises of one of the companies in question comprises just one room THE ULTIMATE owner of both the Singapore companies is based in Mumbai THE COMPANY is alleged to have invested `6,530 crore in India Why Indian High Commission in Singapore wanted the Centre to probe money transferred to RIL: Reliance Hits Back at AAP’s Charges The allegations are highly defamatory, false, irresponsible and devoid of any merit or substance whatsoever . These false allegations...(are part of )...an orchestrated, politically- motivated campaign against us. IT’S THE LARGEST FDI FROM SINGAPORE TO INDIA RELATED REPORTS8 city go?
Transcript of THE ECONOMIC · PDF fileSachin Bansal and Binny Bansal, completed an investment round of $360...
BANGALORE | 18 PAGES | .̀ 3.50 ONLY FRIDAY, 28 FEBRUARY 2014
Airtel Not Planning AnyBuyouts in India: VittalBUSINESS OF BRANDS��5
An Unusual Week in theLife of Elon MuskWORLD VIEW��15
Mid-term Funds a BetterBet Amid High YieldsMARKETS+FINANCE ��11
BENNETT, COLEMAN & CO. LTD.
THE ECONOMIC TIMESWWW.ECONOMICTIMES.COM
OUR BUREAUSBANGALORE | NEW DELHI
EBay has acquired anotherlarge slice of India’s second-largest online retailer, a pre-
cursor many believe to a full pur-chase of the Delhi-based Snapdeal.
By leading an investment of$133.77 million (about .̀ 830 crore),the US-based company is bettingthat the fast-growing Snapdeal willhelp it compete against the likes ofFlipkart and Amazon in one of thefastest-growing markets for ecom-merce in the world.
People familiar with the negotia-tions said the investment valuesSnapdeal at $650-750 million (about.̀ 4,000-4,700 crore). eBay is estimat-ed to own between 35% and 40% of
the company, and founders KunalBahl and Rohit Bansal under 20%together. eBay and Snapdeal de-clined to divulge financial details.
Jay Lee, senior vice-president andmanaging director for Asia-Pacificat eBay, said accelerating growth inIndia and other emerging marketsis a core strategy for the company.“We continue to invest in Snapdealdue to its complementary businessmodel, good management team andstrong brand,” he said.
The eBay-led investment is the lat-est transaction in India’s boomingonline retail sector, which is esti-mated to grow in size to $56 billion(almost .̀ 3.5 lakh crore) in 2023 from$2 billion (.̀ 12,400 crore) now. Lessthan a month ago, fashion portalMyntra raised $50 million (.̀ 310
crore) from the Azim Premji familyoffice and other investors. In Octo-ber last year, Flipkart, founded bySachin Bansal and Binny Bansal,completed an investment round of$360 million (.̀ 2,200 crore), whichvalued the Bangalore-based frm at$1.6 billion (over .̀ 9,900 crore).
eBay, which is a distant second toAmazon in its home market of US,is expected to start the process ofconsolidating its ownership ofSnapdeal within a couple ofmonths, said people with knowl-edge of the discussions.“It will take12-18 months for the process to becompleted as they will need to buyout shares of numerous investors,”said the person.
eBay Snaps Up Another Chunk of SnapdealLeads .̀ 830-cr funding into ecommerce company; Buyout maybe on cards
Snapdeal Raised .̀ 50m Last Year��8
Learn to Take onGlobal Challenges,Modi Tells TradersGives business a
reformist message;
says govt must form
strategies for each
state separately
they fear loss of revenues if theexisting levies were replaced.
With the general elections fastapproaching, Modi also laid outhis economic views separatelyat a conference on the Indianeconomy later in the day.“Speedy, yet sustainable, eco-nomic growth that is inclusiveof all is the need of the hour,” hetold a crowd of businessmen,bankers, economists and diplo-mats.
As India is vast, he said thereare no tailor-made solutions forthe problems of the entire coun-
try. “The govern-ment must identi-fy the strengths ofeach state and de-vise strategies ac-cordingly,” he
said in an hour-long speech. Butfor that the prime minister andchief ministers must act as ateam. “This is not rocket sci-ence. The harmony is missingin decisions.”
Modi also revealed his plans toaccommodate women in boost-ing growth. “Women form 50%of the population, but they as-sume that they have no role incontributing to GDP growth.”The truth is they play a hugerole, be it in animal husbandry,healthcare or handicrafts.
Modi spoke in Hindi, whichdisappointed at least a few for-eign nationals — people from 25countries attended the meeting,according to organisers of theevent — in the audience.
OUR BUREAUNEW DELHI
Narendra Modi, the BJP’s can-didate for prime minister, saidon Thursday India’s traders andgrocery store owners mustlearn to compete with largemodern stores and online retail-ers, comments that could signalachange in a key economic prin-ciple of the party.
The BJP had opposed the gov-ernment’s decision in late 2012to allow foreign supermarketsto open in India due to the threatit says the move poses to mil-lions of kirana store ownersand small traders who form thecrux of the party’s support.
In a separate speech, Modi laidout a reformist agenda andpromised policy implementa-tion to an audience comprisinginvestors, businessmen andeconomists. But Modi stoppedshort of commenting on wheth-er he supports or opposes for-eign investment in retail. “Weshould not worry about the chal-lenges from global trade,” hetold a gathering of the Confeder-ation of All India Traders. Rath-er, he said, small traders shouldemphasise on quality of theirproducts to compete better andcould enter into contracts withbig online retailers to create“virtual malls in small shops”.
Earlier this month, the newly-elected BJP government of Ra-jasthan rolled back the decisionto allow foreign investment inretail. More than half of the 28state governments are againstthe policy.
Modi, the chief minister ofGujarat, said he also favouredintroducing a nationwide goodsand services tax (GST), a long-pending reform expected tobring a uniform market, reducecosts of businesses and in-crease government revenue.
Many states, including BJP-ruled ones, have resisted GST as
Subrata Roy Missing from Mother’s
Bedside When Police Called on HimSahara India chief Subrata Roy, who claimed ex-
emption from appearing before SC to attend to
his mother, was missing from her bedside when
the police came knocking on Thursday.
Companies��7
llllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllll
IT Firms Seek Design School Talentfor New Verticals Like Cloud
IT firms are making a beeline to design schools
as the focus verticals such as product design and
emerging technologies like mobile and cloud
gather traction in India.
Career & Business Life ��10
llllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllll
BPCL Raises 175 Million SwissFrancs Via Offshore Bonds
BPCL has raised around 175 million Swiss francs
by selling offshore bonds bearing a coupon rate
of 2.988% and maturing in December 2019.
Markets + Finance��11
Inside story
VISHAL DUTTAAHMEDABAD
For any pedigreed company or in-dividual donors looking to gettheir names on a building at the
Indian Institute of Management inAhmedabad (IIM-A), the country’stop-ranked business school, now’sthe time to do so. Naming rights forvarious buildings on the campus areon offer, as the institute tries to em-ulate a fund-raising method that’swell established overseas.
Back home, the Indian Institutes ofTechnology and the Indian School ofBusiness are among educational es-
tablishments that use this method todrum up contributions.
“Yes, we are in the process of imple-menting infrastructure namingrights,” said IIM-A director AshishNanda, a Harvard Law School profes-sor who was appointed last year aftera global hunt that took nearly 10months.
He said that Arvind Sahay, a profes-sor at the school, was heading the pro-ject.
Big education institutions such asHarvard Business School receive asubstantial portion of their revenuefrom naming rights.
“If we can have a large corpus, then
this may also result in the decrease ofstudent fees,” said an official associ-ated with the plan. IIM-A rights willbe awarded for a fixed tenure and theterms will vary.
Amongst IIMs, the Ahmedabadschool will be the first to give outnaming rights in an organised for-mat, said the person.
Harvard Business School’s 2013 an-nual report showed revenue of $587million, of which 31% came frompublishing, 25% from executive edu-cation tuition, 18% from MBA tuitionand fees, 2% from housing, rents andothers and 24% from endowment dis-tribution and gifts.
All are Welcome at IIM-A Naming Ceremony Following global cues, premier business school offers building naming rights in order to drum up funds
CR SUKUMAR & SABARINATH MHYDERABAD | MUMBAI
Hyderabad-based infrastructure com-pany Ramky Infrastructure is in nego-tiations with private equity fund Mor-gan Stanley Infrastructure Partnersand the structured investment group ofthe Ajay Piramal group to sell three ofits road assets to raise funds and cutdebts. The company plans to raise .̀ 900crore from the sale of assets. These as-sets include Ramky Elsamex, SehoreKosmi Tollways and NAM Expressway.
The infrastructure company has ap-pointed ICICI Securities as the invest-ment banker for the transaction.
“Ramky Infrastructure is at an ad-vanced stage of discussions with the in-vestors for selling three road assets.The due diligence process has alreadystarted and the company expects to con-clude the deal with the investors overthe next couple of months. IL&FS hasagreed to sell its 50% stake in NAM Ex-pressway,” said a person with directknowledge of the deal.
Other infrastructure sector investorssuch as IDFC Alternatives have alsobeen approached. Potential investorshave recently undertaken due diligence
of the NAM Expressway project in Hyd-erabad. While Ramky Infra and Ajay Pi-ramal group declined to comment, ICI-CI Securities and Morgan Stanley wereunavailable for comments.
Ramky Infra Looks toSell Three Road Assets
WAR OF WORDS RIL issues strong denial as AAP claims UPA turned blind eye to report from
Indian diplomats about non-descript Singapore firm transferring cash to Ambani cos
case earlier this month allegingthat gas prices are being raisedbecause of crony capitalism in-volving Ambani, oil minister Vee-rappa Moily and other politic-ians. AAP kept up its attack on
ernment saying that BiometrixMarketing, which operates fromjust one room that is mostlyclosed, had invested Rs 6,350 crorein India. Nearly half the amountwent to RGTIL, about Rs 1,850crore to Reliance Ports and the re-maining Rs 200 crore to RelianceUtilities Ltd, according to thecopy of the diplomatic corre-spondence distributed by AAP.
“Thus it is absolutely clear thatReliance is laundering its ill-got-ten profits in India through Sin-gapore (particularly from KG ba-sin gas) and depositing the sameinto accounts of Mr Mukesh Am-bani. Yet this UPA governmenthas not even bothered to investi-gate this and arrest Mr Ambani,and has instead showered himwith one benefit after another,”AAP said.
Reliance vehemently deniedthis.
“The allegations that ill-gottenlaundered money or profits haveeither been made or that thesehave been deposited in the ac-counts of Mr Mukesh Ambanithrough Singapore or otherwiseare false and are treated by uswith the contempt that they de-serve,” the company said.
Reliance with a statement thatsaid: “UPA showers benefits toReliance: one after the other.”
Bhushan distributed copies of anote from the Indian High Com-mission in August 2011 to the gov-
OUR BUREAUNEW DELHI
Arvind Kejriwal’s Aam AadmiParty intensified its attack onMukesh Ambani, accusing himof being involved in a Rs 6,530-crore money-laundering oper-ation that deserved investigationand arrest of India’s richest man,provoking a fierce denial fromReliance Industries, the first timeit has reacted so strongly to thebarrage of allegations levelledagainst the company and itschairman.
Aam Aadmi Party leader Prash-an Bhushan issued a statementsaying the United Progressive Al-liance government had turned ablind eye to commercial intelli-gence from Indian diplomats inSingapore seeking the investiga-tion of a company with practical-ly no income transferring largesums of money to firms such asReliance Gas Transportation In-frastructure Ltd (RGTIL) con-trolled by the Ambani family.
Reliance said in an emailedstatement it was the victim of an“orchestrated, politically moti-vated campaign”.
AAP, during its 49-day Delhistate government term, had or-dered the filing of a corruption
Now, AAP Accuses RILof Money Laundering
BJP’S RETAIL RETHINK?
Kunal Bahl and Rohit Ban-
sal have managed to posi-
tion Snapdeal as the big-
gest rival to Flipkart.
Meanwhile, Bahl still finds
time to send out irreverent
tweets, reports Biswarup
Gooptu.��5
Kunal Bahl: An IrreverentBusinessman
Jabong
$100m
$150-200m
2014
Rocket Internet, CDC, European Founders Fund
Myntra
$50m
OVER $200m
2014Premji Invest, So� na, Tiger Global, Accel Partners, IDG Ventures, Kalaari Capital
Sale @ E-tailersTop Investments in Online Retail
Flipkart
$360m
$1.6billion
2013 Naspers, Tiger Global, Dragoneer, Morgan Stanley, So� na, Vulcan Capital, Accel Partners, Iconiq Capital
Snapdeal
$133.8m
$650-750m
2014 eBay Inc, Nexus, Kalaari Capital, Bessemer, Intel Capital, Saama Capital, Recruit Holdings, ru-Net
Amt. Raised Valuation Est. Investors
We should not worryabout the challengesfrom global trade
NARENDRA MODI
Do pre-elections opinion polls sway voters?
www.economictimes.com
Will recent developments hurt privateinvestment in oil & gas?
TODAY’S QUESTION
18%YES
76%NO
6%CAN’T SAY
Congress V-P Rahul
Gandhi is likely to
carry out ‘padayatra’
in select parts of the
country, highlighting
the theme—“economic progress with
social harmony”—in the run-up to the
Lok Sabha polls, reports Our Political
Bureau.��3
Rahul PlansPadayatra
On Edit Page
Low Growth in FY15A patchwork of pushy policies can
take economic growth only as far as
5.5% in the next financial year, says
Bibek Debroy.
Sharp political reportage
from election hotspots
around India. A continuing
series, today's focus is on IT capital
Bangalore's constituencies. Is Nileka-
ni a game changer? �� 4
ET@Ground ZeroINCLUSIVEGROWTH��SEE EDIT
The ProposalCORPORATES OR individual donors may be allowed to acquire ‘naming rights’ for various infrastructure at IIM-A campus
The InfrastructureRIGHTS MAY be allowed for dorms, classrooms, seminar rooms, faculty room, cricket ground
What’s in a Name
Today’s edition carries CORPORATEDOSSIER (metro only)
Manipal Health
is close to buy-
ing a hospital
each in Mumbai and Delhi
as part of its expansion
plan in the coming six
months. The deals will be
finalised before May, re-
ports Varun Sood from
Bangalore. Manipal
Health has drawn an out-
lay of .̀ 1,200 crore as it
closes on its buyout of an
existing 250-300 bed
hospital each in Mumbai
and Delhi, and build four
news hospitals, starting
August. Two 300-bed
hospitals will be set up in
Whitefield, Bangalore,
while the group will make
one new hospital in Delhi
and Mumbai.��6
Manipal toBuy TwoHospitals
One For The Road
Assets up for sale are Ramky Elsamex, Sehore Kosmi Toll-ways and NAM Expressway
These assets have already started generating revenues
Investments in road projects happening in anticipation of good times
`2,100 crConsolidated debt which Ramky Infra plans to retire
`500 crAjay Piramal group’s investment in Navayuga Road Projects
BAD TIME FOR E-COMM-DEPENDENTLOGISTICS COS ��6
Some Investors Upbeat on Road Assets��8
Fresh Attack on Reliance
THE EQUITY of both the investing companies from Singapore is very smallcompared with the amount invested
BOTH INVESTING companies have claimed exemption from fi ling annual accounts to the Singapore regulator on grounds of small income
THE BUSINESS premises of one of the companies in question comprises just one room
THE ULTIMATE owner of both the Singapore companies is based in Mumbai
THE COMPANY is alleged to have invested
`6,530 crore in India
Why Indian High Commission in Singapore wanted the Centre to probe money transferred to RIL:
Reliance Hits Back at AAP’s ChargesThe allegations are highly defamatory, false, irresponsible and devoid of any merit or substance whatsoever. These false allegations...(are part of)...an orchestrated, politically-motivated campaign against us.
IT’S THE
LARGEST FDI
FROM SINGAPORE
TO INDIA
RELATED REPORTS��8
city go?
