Summary: Doug McMillon, the chief executive officer of the biggest retail company of the world, Walmart, was in India recently. During this time, in a conversation with Business Standard, he indicated that the retail giant’s aspiration for multi-brand retail might be a thing of the past. What then is Walmart’s future Indian strategy? Like the retail giant Walmart, WhatsApp too has been eyeing the large Indian market. In a matter of few years, it has become part of daily lives of over 480 million people in India. But, scammers also came along. And despite all the checks and regulations in place, an increasing number of people are falling prey to their tricks. People now are also reporting unsolicited calls from unknown international numbers. Why is it so? And what are WhatsApp and Indian regulators doing to make this platform safe? During his interaction with Business Standard, the Walmart CEO said that both Flipkart and PhonePe will eventually go for IPOs and the call on timing will be taken by independent boards. The company is waiting for that right moment. Meanwhile, according to a report, over 50 companies are expected to raise a combined 76,190 crore rupees via IPOs in FY24. But primary market activity has remained muted so far in 2023 with weaker-than-expected participation by retail investors. So, what’s keeping retail investors away from IPOs? And will the trend change in the days to come? Go First has also been planning to raise money from the primary market since 2015. But the airline is now grounded, and its owners have filed for voluntary insolvency. This has left aircraft lessors in a fix and they too have approached NCLAT for relief. But what are aircraft lessors? Listen to this episode of the podcast for answers.
