Now, if this news is true, it may probably be a game-changer for fast growing Indian E-Commerce space. Last night, Medianama reported that Flipkart will soon be announcing acquisition of Letsbuy.com. Although, there is no official word or confirmation on this acquisition, the news has a good chance of being true.

Flipkart recently closed USD 150 million dollar funding, and are currently flush with funds to make such acquisitions. However, I am a little surprised that they have gone after similar multi-brand space acquisition in which they themselves are in.

Flipkart.com is clearly the leader currently in multi-brand online retail space, while Infibeam, Letsbuy, Homeshop18 and Indiaplaza all have very similar traffic from India as you can see from the Alexa traffic ranking given below.

Although, Amazon’s entry in India should not be much of worry to Flipkart in its current form, this acquisition points to one fact that they want to be far ahead in the game by the Amazon make a full fledged entry with their own multi-brand retail products.

Medianama also points that Letsbuy’s valuation is roughly in USD 20 to 25 million region and is expected to be part cash, part equity deal.

We will update when we get some more details of this deal!

Update 5:00pm, 9th Feb 2012: Following is the official Press Release sent to us:

Flipkart Acquires Letsbuy

Consolidates leadership in online Consumer Electronics space

Bangalore. February 9, 2012: Flipkart.com, India’s largest e-commerce player in physical products has acquired Letsbuy, the second largest retailer in electronics. With this move, Flipkart has firmly established itself as the leader in the consumer electronic space.  This deal will also allow for a faster rate of expansion for both companies – giving the combined entity a much larger share in the consumer electronics market.

The acquisition is a combination of cash and equity. The founders of Letsbuy along with their 350+ team will continue to function independently, with the added advantage of now being able to access Flipkart’s superior technology platform and supply chain capabilities.

Speaking about the acquisition, Flipkart’s co-founder and CEO Sachin Bansal said, “This acquisition fits into our strategy of building dominant shares in all categories we operate in. We are already leaders in the books and media verticals. Given that we managed to build a leadership position in consumer electronics as well since its launch in early 2011, it made sense for us to consolidate when we saw this opportunity. This acquisition opportunity came at a very attractive price for us and the timing has also been ideal. The synergies will now allow us to accelerate faster and get to a share similar to what we enjoy in the online books category”.

Letsbuy.com founder & CEO Hitesh Dhingra said "Letsbuy.com has experienced a phenomenal growth in the last one year and holds a dominant position in e-commerce industry in India. We believe that our expertise in 3Cs* category matched with Flipkart’s superior technology and supply chain could be a killer combination. The Company had a choice to raise a large round of funding as well, however aligning our business with the largest player in the market made sense as the resultant synergies will guarantee our customers the best possible service, price and selection. ”

While the finer details on mutual synergies are being worked out by both teams at present, the move has been welcomed by investors of both firms. Helion, the lead investor in Letsbuy.com has said it believes that the combined strength of the two leading players is formidable and will be able to deliver a stronger value proposition to customers. 

Related posts:

1. Ecommerce growth propels huge Social Media spends by Indian Companies!
2. Discounts –Is it the only driving force behind the growth of India’s E-commerce industry ?
3. Indian Ecommerce Startups & their travails with Ruthless Indian payment gateway providers!

IDC recently released stats on Worldwide Smartphone market and its growth has beaten analysts expectations as well. According to the the IDC’s Worldwide Mobile Phone Tracker, Smartphone manufacturers shipped 157.8 million units in 4Q11 compared to 102.0 million units in the fourth quarter of 2010. The YoY growth of 54.7% was higher than the 49.2% growth registered in 3Q11.

Top Five Worldwide Smartphone Vendors Market in 2011

The total smartphone shipment volumes reached 491.4 million units in 2011, a whopping increase over 304.7 million units in 2010. However, in percentage basis, the growth was lower in 2011 (61.3%) as compared to 2010 (75.7%). IDC report also states that by December 2011, one out of every three mobiles phones shipped worldwide was a smartphone.

Top Five Worldwide Smartphone Vendors Market Share Changes

Apple:

Apple regained its market leader position by launching iPhone 4S worldwide. It also reached a new shipment volume record for itself and for the entire industry for a single quarter. The holiday season, delay in the product launch from 3Q to 4Q and the addition of multiple mobile operators has helped Apple achieve this record. The much hyped 4S has left few Apple fanboy’s disappointed as it lacked 4G LTE connectivity or a different size screen.

Samsung:

Samsung too had its share of milestones. It broke the 30 million units mark for the first time and also posted the largest year-over-year increase of the top lot (yeah true!! Who bothered about Samsung phones couple of years back ;)). Samsung also has concentrated on expanding in all kinds of market with Galaxy S2, Galaxy Nexus in the high end sector, Galaxy Ace and galaxy Y in the mass market. The biggest achievement for Samsung though was that it managed to marginally beat Apple in terms of number of units shipped!

Nokia

This is something which Nokia wouldn’t be proud of – Nokia posted the largest year-over-year decrease amongst the top manufacturers. But, Nokia has been in news again for good reasons due to the release of first set of windows smartphones – Lumia 710 and the Lumia 800. Nokia claims that it shipped over a million units’ in its debut quarter. However, the Symbian phones are losing their charm and Nokia could stop shipping these Symbian’s soon.

Blackberry

2011 has been a mixed bag of results for RIM (Blackberry). Firstly, the good things – The new BB OS 7-powered BlackBerry phones reached new markets. And then the not so good things – the global network outage in October (I almost died laughing at few of the jokes on BB!). Also the news that the first BB 10-powered smartphones will arrive only by the end of year 2012 has left the BB fans disappointed.

HTC

HTC has timed its releases quite well and it has been releasing the smartphones from time to time. It not only relied on Android smartphones but also released Windows Phone’s like Titan and Radar models. This strategy of HTC catered to both the mobile operators as well as the customers quite a well. However, when compared to the last quarter, HTC has shipped less number of phones.

[Source]

[This post has been written by Srikanth of PriceShred.com – An online marketplace to buy or sell second hand mobile in India.]

Related posts:

1. Blackberry Losing The Enterprise Smartphone Market Share To iPhone!
2. Global Smartphone OS Market: Android accounts for over half of it!
3. Android App Market grows fiercely, may over-take Apple App store by mid 2012!

If you’ve read out earlier feature which covered the top 10 Indian businesswomen last year, then you’ll find this post to be more of an extension of the same. What are the qualities that what have gotten Indian women to the top spots of India Inc? Is it just about having a tough facade, compromising on family or having IIM/IIT degrees that allow them to skyrocket? No, there’s much more to that. Let’s find out.

Accepting that you will not be a star at work and at home

It’s only natural for women to not be able to give their 100 percent at their households and their workplace. If there’s an important board meeting the next day for which you have to prepare through the night, you simply can’t juggle entertaining your husband’s family for dinner simultaneously, for instance. As Business Today reports, Naina Lal Kidwai, HSBC’s India Head believes that this attitude is missing in urban women who still attempt to do-it- all. It’s okay to set up an alternative support system, ask for help and start by admitting that you can’t handle both equally if not less or more. That way, Indian women at work can start setting their priorities easily. These top Indian businesswomen affirm this quality:

"Shared responsibilities are the only way more women will pursue careers."

- Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw, Chairman and Managing Director, Biocon [Source]

“It’s better to spend quality time with your child, than spend the day after work cooking.”

- Renu Sud Karnad, Joint Managing Director and Member of the Board of HDFC Ltd[Source]

Not to accept or ask for any pity as a woman

Bunking work on the day of an important presentation in order to attend your child’s first annual day is probably not an option for women who want to climb that corporate rung. Although paid maternity leave / arrangements are arriving in India slowly, corporates don’t allow for extra time or a loose hand being given to employees just because they are female. Take for example, ICICI. Quoted in a Business Today report, K. Ramkumar, Head of HR at ICICI Bank says

"We do nothing. There is no chivalry, no kid gloves, there are no affirmative action committees. Your system has to be a pure meritocracy. No woman can play the woman card’.

Be on the top of your game

"My passion lies in the pursuit of excellence – can I do it very well, better than others?"

- Chanda Kochhar, Managing Director and CEO of ICICI Bank [Source]

This lady who can also ‘command an army’, as Business Today reports, is a perfect example of what focus and excellence are all about. As the CEO of ICICI Bank, each second of her day is scheduled for and planned, including the time taken by the elevator to reach her floor. K V Kamath recalls that when he newly hired Kochhar, she achieved her annual target in the very first quarter.

On the other hand Mallika Srinivasan, Tractors and Farm Equipment CEO recalls that whilst she was studying for her MBA from Wharton, she used to have her young daughter in tow, and would study in the laundry room because the hum of the washing machines helped her to concentrate.

Anjali Bansal, Managing Director, Spencer Stuart India, thinks that women who are poised to be successful have a killer work ethic and according to Shailja Dutt, MD, Stellar Search, "Letting anything slip is not an option", as reported by BT. These examples only point towards the fact that being a master of your expertise/area is a critical quality to have.

Don’t expect to please everyone

One quality that most top women in the Indian corporate space acknowledge is that woman needs to lose their nurturing side of obliging to keep everyone happy. You’ve got to be hard as nails and be ready to the extent of making some enemies in the workplace. For one, women in corporate India still face the wrath and envy of many men if they are climbing the ladder too quickly and secondly, trying to subvert the stereotype of being soft and submissive may tend to make female employees extra aggressive and hence piss people off.

Don’t give up easily

Most women in the corporate space give up when they have their first child in the age group of 25 to 35. The overwhelming workload combined with unsupportive families becomes a quick and easy reason for them to lose their cool and call it quits. But most of the top women you see in the Indian corporate space today are married, have children and yet have survived this tumultuous phase in their lives. The best way to deal with this is to think about where you will be in the next 5 years. Your responsibilities for your children would have decreased and you would be 5 years richer of work experience and perhaps a senior position. Would you want to let all of this go because of a hasty decision?

Vinita Bali, MD, Britannia has the last fair word:

"I think this gender thing is a bit overplayed. Ultimately, it is competence, skills, attitude and ability to lead that matter."

[Source]

Related posts:

1. The Indian Women CEO have arrived and how?
2. Why Should Men Have All the Fun? – Even when Women Work Equally Hard!
3. Indian corporates looking for youth entrepreneurs!

Although the Scandinavian giant IKEA has been trying to come to India since 2000, it hasn’t been able to set itself up yet. And this was mainly because of the tight FDI rules in India until recently. But with the Indian government having finally shifted from a 51 percent foreign ownership cap to 100 percent foreign ownership of Indian single brand retail ventures, IKEA can finally start making its plans to revisit the thriving Indian subcontinent.

No formal announcements have been made as of now, but IKEA is expected to be one of the first large global brands to take advantage of 100% FDI in single brand retail! Let’s take a look at a few reasons why IKEA may be successful in India.

IKEA offers all types of readymade household items in one store

From its trademark foldable, pre fabricated, light furniture, to household items to stationery, to an IKEA food store to the linen section to home accessories to kitchenware to decorative items, IKEA has it all. Worldwide, IKEA is known by its motto ‘Everything under one roof’.

Just like Reliance Fresh, Big Bazaar, Spencer’s and the likes are gradually taking over the kirana stores of India, IKEA too has the ability to easily take over smaller independent shops of furniture that have been reigning over the Indian furniture marketplace from the past many years. The typical Indian trait of getting furniture custom made by hiring a carpenter on contract too could heavily take a beating.

IKEA offers quick and maximum customization

Indians are used to consuming customized items – whether is their Banarasi meetha pan, a kurti stitched by the gali ka darji or a piece of furniture made by the local Rajasthani carpenter. With IKEA, customization will take a whole new meaning for Indians. Choose a lampshade with a handpicked lamp base, choose a Futon with a shade of your choice, chose an arm chair with a different back cover and so on. Whether you are colour coordinating your own home or simply want to get DIY (do-it-yourself) furniture, IKEA serves every need.

Arm yourself with an IKEA notepad, item list and pencil from the store entrance and start ticking off codes of the items you’d like to take away from their warehouse facility in the basement. This experience is likely to strike a chord with the needs of customization loving Indians instantly!

IKEA’s pre fabricated furniture and goods represent modern Indian lifestyles

More and more working Indians living in suburban metros want shopping hubs that offer quick service, a reliable brand name, wide options under one roof and quick delivery. Also, with cost of living in metros ever rising and rented pads becoming smaller and more expensive, people are only going to opt for home items that take up less space in the house, store more and are easy to move.

As far as the pricing is concerned, only time will tell how IKEA suits its Indian customers, because the general reputation of IKEA products even overseas is that it is fairly cheap!

IKEA is a familiar brand name amongst urban Indians

Most well travelled Indians from semi urban and urban cities know the brand name of IKEA fairly well. IKEA along with Starbucks and Walmart, has been made familiar to Indians because they keep appearing in the media due to their constantly changing plans of entering the Indian marketplace.

Additionally, IKEA being a classic international business case study of streamlining costs and developing an efficient supply chain, many B-school students are all too familiar with the brand name.

IKEA’s CSR operations in India

Current IKEA CEO Mikael Olsson has his eyes well set on India as the next big opportunity. His 2010 visit exclusively focused on assuring Indian people and the Indian government that IKEA is not one of those companies whose Indian suppliers engage child laborers, unlike many MNCs that were accused of doing so in the 1990s, BBC News reported.

IKEA has been sourcing many materials from India from a long time and to re-affirm its goodwill in the country, IKEA supports UNICEF’s water and sanitation program and funds initiatives in the carpet and cotton regions in the country, reported ET. In the coming years too, IKEA plans to spend in areas of women empowerment, education, health awareness and industry-based programs that aims to benefit about a 100 million women and children.

One thing for sure, If and when IKEA enters India, they have potential to change household furniture Industry in India!

Would love to hear your thoughts on this…

Related posts:

1. Single Brand Retail – Indian Govt. approves 100% FDI!
2. Wine Industry in India: Past, present and future
3. Will 2011 be the Year of Luxury Brands?

Let me ask you three questions.

• Question 1: Do you have high savings?
• Question 2: Do you save at the expense of putting off critical purchases?
• Question 3: Do you think that is good for the economy?

Well if the answer to the questions is yes, yes and yes, then you might find this piece very interesting.

In the 1940’s John Maynard Keynes pulled the world attention to a theory that had been around since biblical times. The theory states that

“The paradox is, narrowly speaking, that total savings may fall even when individual savings attempt to rise, and, broadly speaking, that increase in savings may be harmful to an economy.”

The first reference to this theory came from the The Fable of the Bees: or, Private Vices, Publick Benefits (1714) by Bernard Mandeville, the title itself hinting at the paradox, and Keynes citing the passage:

As this prudent economy, which some people call Saving, is in private families the most certain method to increase an estate, so some imagine that, whether a country be barren or fruitful, the same method if generally pursued (which they think practicable) will have the same effect upon a whole nation, and that, for example, the English might be much richer than they are, if they would be as frugal as some of their neighbors. This, I think, is an error. (Source: Wikipedia)

Now how is that possible one might wonder? But to Keynesian economists the answer is very simple. In an ideal scenario total income would be equal to total expenses and the savings would match the investments. So in other words total savings would equal investments.

This equation holds everything in balance with all other factors being normal.

Total Income: Total expenses = Total Investments: Total Savings

In other words If the savings is increased then the equilibrium shifts against investments at a lower value, which finally affects the total income leading to a weakening of the economy.

So that is the theoretical logic, let me try to explain with an example.

In the 70’s and 80’s, Japan was at the forefront of world economy winning the war. From electronics to Automobiles the Japanese brands could do no wrong. Soon Japanese brands like Toyota and Sony were household names across the world. Japanese management practices were being copied and there were many best sellers on the rise of Japan. Hollywood also made some very funny anti-Japanese movies.

But then in 1990’s the Japanese juggernaut stalled. Sales and exports declined and Japanese economy went into recession, a recession that lasted almost a decade. The reason for the recession was that Japanese being very cautious on the economy curtailed spending. As the exports were falling, the Japanese consumers increased the saving rate, to brace themselves for the tight days ahead. This led to lesser spending in the local economy and further loss of business for the local Japanese establishments. So now not only the exporters were facing loss of sales but also the local businesses were losing business. This led to further recession something that lasted for more than a decade.

India faced a similar challenge during the peak of the 2008 recession. Luckily for us domestic demand picked up at the right time and bailed India out of the jaws of the recession.

Are savings good? The answer is yes, but as excess of anything is bad, the same holds true for savings.

It is best to view expenditure as investments and invest in local businesses as that would drive the economy and help sustain growth.

Related posts:

1. Yes Bank hikes Savings deposit rate to 7% – Has your bank obliged?
2. 5 things you really need to understand to enhance your savings!
3. China – Saving Grace for World Economy!

It was interesting to read in a recent ET report that auto giants like Maruti Suzuki, Hyundai and Tata Motors India are planning to make refreshed efforts in 2012 to tap their existing and potential customer base through Twitter, Facebook and other social media platforms. As per the report ‘E-Marketing Outlook in India for 2012′ by Octane Marketing, the top two online marketing initiatives that will see an increase in marketing investments in 2012, as compared to 2011 are social media (at 68.8 percent) and e-mail marketing (at 53.1 percent).

DNA and TOI on the other hand, gave a detailed reported on how social media was increasingly used by Indian brands in 2011. All of this basically proves Social Media gaining prominence as a customer acquisition platform amongst Businesses in India.

We have listed down some pointers that should help Businesses acquire customers through Social Media.

A platform for good customer services

We’ve seen newspapers in India frequently reporting tweets or posts of angry customers on a company’s social media page. Once this kind of content about a company’s faulty product or inconsiderate service gets rolling in the online marketplace, there’s no looking back on the company’s reputation being harmed – Vodafone India is an example in this case.

A great way to acquire customers though social media would be to use this feedback to your advantage and gain your customer’s trust. Welcome feedback and act upon it so that customers know that you’re there on social media not just for lip service, but for actually being able to get things done quicker. Word of mouth for good service always spreads fast. Act on the praise and the brickbats with equal gusto.

Catering marketing strategies to reach out to the B-towns

We commonly tend to think that only people in the Mumbai locals and Delhi metros would be carrying smartphones. Hence, many brands make the mistake of forming their internet penetration strategies that apply only to that demographic. But remember, with the smartphone coming of age in India, about 75 percent of users of mobile networks belong to B and C class towns, as reported by the Business Standard. You can acquire customers through social media by catering your social media marketing strategies keeping in mind B town demographics, requirements and sensibilities.

Connect with offline events

Social media marketers in India need to remember that they still have to keep offline marketing as a part of their campaign. Relying on social media alone would cost them their non-Internet using customer base dearly. Partnering with offline events that match the brand image is crucial for acquiring a large following on a company’s social media page. Take for example Koovs, an Indian deals site which acquired a huge following when it partnered with the Great Indian Oktoberfest in 2011.

Share interesting content that may not be directly related to your brand

This is primarily to show your fans and following on social media that you’re not here to use them as scapegoats to promote your business 24×7. A chat, irrelevant conversation (to your business or product) of current happenings, polls, contests and interactive opinion taking quizzes etc. would be a great way to maintain relationship with your customers.

Make members amongst your following interact with each other so that as a brand or an individual seller, you can keep a track on what’s hot and what’s not. Check out HDFC Bank, Kingfisher and Tata Docomo’s Facebook pages to see how they have interspersed their wall posts with promotional and non-promotional conversations.

Associate promotions with days and dates

You wouldn’t expect the Indian shopping and deals portal Deals and You to run an Agony Aunt corner for the upcoming Valentine’s Day on their Facebook page right? Well, that’s exactly how they are planning to attract young customers to their Valentine’s Day special deals. If the Future Group is famous for strategizing its big sales in Big Bazaar chains according to the local festivals of each state they operate in, you can do the same on social media too.

Madhusudan Thakur, Regional Vice-President, South Asia for Regus aptly summarizes the advantages of acquiring customers though social media:

"As businesses emerge from the downturn they are increasingly reconsidering pre-recession working practices and opting for more flexible, competitive strategies. From supply chain management, to leaner working practices, to cloud computing, to increased use of video communications and mobile working no area of business is being overlooked. Particularly in India where Nielsen reports that 3 out of 4 social media users visit a social networking site at least once a day, and a discussion forum once a week, more and more companies are leveraging this channel to increase the loyalty of existing customers, and as a successful acquisition tool." [Source]

Social Media is definitely a great platform for customer acquisition, however, it should not be looked upon as another tool for just self-promotion & marketing!

Views welcome!

Related posts:

1. Social Media For Customer Service Is Here To Stay, But Businesses Unclear About Ownership!
2. Social Media: Indian CMOs find themselves Unprepared [Survey]
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This is one news that has made me really happy – According to the study published by Wikimedia, Indians have expressed strongest desire to donate to Wikipedia. Over 42% of Indians are willing to donate as compared to 33% Americans.

Wikipedia concluded its annual fundraising on January 2nd and raised a record-breaking USD 20 million from more than one million donors from nearly every country in the world. Wikipedia carried out a study to understand these donors and have published the findings.

Highlights of Wikipedia study findings:

- On average 47% of readers did not know that Wikipedia was a non-profit entity run entirely on donations!

- Russia (64%), Brazil (56%) and the United States (56%) were the top 3 countries who lacked awareness. While Egypt (70%) and India (61%) had highest level of Wikipedia’s not-for-profit status! Even 28% of readers who had edited Wikipedia were also unaware of the same.

- While more men (44%) donated than women (36%), women are much more likely to be continued supporters, with 14% of them having donated more than 5 times, compared to only 6% of men.

- Readers from India (42%), Egypt (33%) and US (33%) expressed a strongest desire to donate. readers from Germany (13%), France (11%) and Japan (15%) were relatively less likely to donate.

- 46% of the all readers said that they could not donate because of affordability factor. 57% of Indian readers cited affordability as a reason that they could not donate.

It is really interesting that Indians are generally more knowledgeable about Wikipedia as compared to their global peers and at the same time they are also more willing to donate than others.

Related posts:

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2. Wikipedia celebrates its 10th Birthday!
3. Tatas Donate Rs. 220 crore to the Harvard… Justified?

Lets take a look at the funding & M&A deals that in the fortnight starting January 23^rd 2012. [Generally, we publish this weekly, but we could not cover it earlier, so we have put up fortnightly deals]

Funding, M&A Deals of the Week [Jan 23^rd to Feb 4^th 2012]

Funded Company / Acquired Company	Deal Type	Who Funded /   Who Acquired	Funding Amount	Remarks
Messung Group	Acquisition	Mitsubishi Electric Corporation	Undisclosed	to accelerate its industrial automation systems business in India
Super Religare Laboratories	Private Equity	International Finance Corp. (IFC)	USD 30 Million	To fuel its inorganic growth
IOT Infrastructure	Private Equity	UTI Capital	Rs. 100 Crore	For general expansion
Bluestone.com	Series A	Accel Partners, SVB, K Ganesh	USD 5 Million	For expansion of their Jewellery ecommerce platform
Freecharge.in	Series A	Sequoia Capital India	USD 4 Million	To expand their ecommerce platform
Netmagic Solutions	Acquisition	NTT Comm. Corp.	USD 128 Million (approx)	74% stake acquired. Strategic investment
Gadhia Solar	Private Equity	Zephyr Peacock	Rs. 50 Crore	N/A
Peel-Works	Seed Funding	Indian Angel Network	Rs. 3.25 Crore	For general expansion of their cloud platform
InRev Systems Pvt Ltd	Series A	Kolkata based investor	Undisclosed	To setup office in India & Sales Unit
SIBHPL	Private Equity	3i India	USD 61 Million	To execute Road projects in hand
eDreams Edusoft	Seed Funding	Mumbai Angels	USD 1 Million	For their Technology Edu platform
Flipkart.com	Series C	Accel Partners, Tiger Global	USD 150 Million	For expansion of their Ecommerce Platform
Venturenet Partners Pvt Ltd	Series A	Ojas Ventures	Undisclosed	to boost their consumer radio services
Sai Security Printers	Private Equity	Aureos South Asia Fund	USD 7 Million	For general expansion
Ujjivan Financial Services	Private Equity	Wolfensohn Capital Partners, FMO & others	Rs. 128 Crore	N/A
Raamns Shipping & Logistics	Majority Stake	Oil Field Warehouse & Services Ltd	Undisclosed	N/A
Apex Drugs and Intermediaries	Acquisition	Aanjaneya Lifecare Ltd	Rs. 250 Crore	To become integrated formulation company
Godrej Properties	Private Equity	GIC Real Estate	USD 100 Million	To develop project in BKC Mumbai
UTV Software Communications	Majority Stake	Walt Disney Co.	Undisclosed	N/A
Openwave Systems, Inc	Acquisition	Persistent Systems Ltd	Undisclosed	to foray into mobile location based services
Bush Foods Overseas	Private Equity	Standard Chartered Private Equity	Undisclosed	N/A
Indiahomes.com	Series A	Helion Venture Capital and Foundation Capital	USD 4 Million	To make entry into ecommerce space
Sintex Industries Limited	Private Equity	Emerging Markets Management	USD 3 Million	N/A

[We are sometimes unable to get the funding amounts, as they are not disclosed. However, we update this sheet when it becomes public. If you are aware of amounts, and they have not been put up in the table, please do get in touch with us.]

You can check out coverage of all the previous Weekly Funding & M&A deals round-up here.

Note: Even though we try our best to bring you all the funding / M&A deals of the week, there are always ones which go un-reported. Most of the deals which we put up here are published on multiple websites, and we do refer them to provide the accuracy of deal in question. If you know of the any that we have not covered, please let us know and we will be more than happy to add it to the list!

Related posts:

1. Indian Funding, M&A deals of the fortnight [26th Dec 2011 - 1st Jan 2012]
2. Indian Funding, M&A deals of the Week [16th Jan - 22nd Jan 2012]
3. Indian Funding, M&A deals of the week [17th Oct - 23rd Oct 2011]

Slow sales and a glut of properties are set to hamper the residential real estate market in Mumbai, India, and prices could fall by a further 30% according to analysts at Bonanza Properties.

The glut is likely to extend into 2013 as steady streams of new developments are launched on the market; Developers who bought land at high prices now have to bring prices down.

The overall sentiments of the market and the consistent rate of new project launches in Mumbai give a clear indication of an impending oversupply by 2012. A lot of developers in the most severely affected locations are currently open to closing sales at lower rates.

Prices for commercial properties slumped in the Indian city in 2009 and many developers switched from offices to residential in the hope of keeping profits high. But now this sector is slumping too.

Over the past 12 to 14 months, developers from Mumbai and Delhi started focusing on their home markets and launching a substantial number of residential projects. Land was bought at expensive rates and if sales continue to remain dull for longer, there would be as much as 15 to 25% correction.

Total recent residential sales about 65% of flats in Delhi and 35% in Mumbai have gone to speculators. These flats are also expected to roll back into the market.

Analysts tracking the prices and unsold flat inventory levels said the fall would continue for a longer period and prices would remain stagnant for some time because the industry hiked prices in a hurry to make quick profits soon after revival of the sector.

For Mumbai, expect a further correction of up to 35%. There may be a case that you could see 25% correction in the next two quarters by the year 2012.

As the economy shows signs of decreasing GDP growth rate, the Indian real estate industry faces its own share of concerns. Real estate developers are reeling under high debt and FDI inflows have also slowed down. The recent increase in home loan interest rates is expected to dampen the sales even further. Amidst these macroeconomic conditions, Indian real estate asset classes across the prime cities of India have seen mixed sentiments.

Commercial Real Estate

In 2012, several IT companies are looking to pre-lease office space to take advantage of the favorable commercial terms currently being proposed by commercial office space developers. Demand is expected to remain stable. However, the office space supply is expected to outweigh demand in most prime cities of India. Corporate expansions are likely to decrease due to the uncertainties in the global economic situation, which will have an impact on business budgets for next year.

Retail Real Estate

In 2012, enquiries for quality retail space are likely to remain robust as major Indian retailers are seeking to implement their expansion plans in the prime cities as well as select Tier II and Tier III cities. FDI in multi brand real estate, when finally permitted, is expected to catalyze a lot of demand from international retailers. That said, international luxury brands will restrict their growth plans to Mumbai, Delhi and Bangalore.

Residential Real Estate

Because of the prevailing uncertainties on the global market and the likelihood of further interest rate hikes by the RBI in the early part of 2012, sentiments on the residential market will remain cautious over the short term. The absorption rate – meaning the ratio of sales over inventory in the market – is likely to be low, and the incidence of new launches will decline. Rise in capital values will be marginal because of low sales.

Project-specific price increases can be expected across all sub-markets – this pertains specially to projects that are being delivered or are nearing completion. The mid-end and affordable housing segments will record healthy appreciation in capital values in the short term from a low base. We expect these trends to continue during 4Q11 and 1H12.

Meanwhile, residential developers will continue to tackle the current liquidity crunch due to high interest rates and slow sales. We will see a slowdown in construction activity for the time being. However, as demand improves, improving sales will benefit developers who will focus on execution of their on-going project portfolios.

(This guest post is written by Naveen Perla, who is Director of real estate portal Bonanza properties, that facilitates Real Estate services in India)

Related posts:

1. Finally some respite for Real Estate buyers
2. Indian Real Estate & Property market – Some Facts & Figures
3. How far can Indian real estate market rise?