SWIGGY

** Swiggy SWIG.NS, Zomato-parent Eternal ETEA.NS rise 2% each

** Motilal Oswal upgrades SWIG to "buy" from "neutral", raises PT to 560 rupees from 450 rupees

** Retains "buy" on ETEA, raises PT to 420 rupees from 330 rupees

** Says GST changes expected to accelerate adoption of quick commerce services in non-metro cities

** Expects food delivery growth to exceed 20% over the next two-four quarters, up from previously stunted 17%–18% growth, driven by upcoming festive demand, GST reforms

** Highlights easing expansion, discounts at Swiggy Instamart and Blinkit

** SWIG, ETEA rated "buy" on avg, with median PT of 450 rupees, 321 rupees, respectively, per data compiled by LSEG

** YTD, SWIG falls 20%, ETEA gains 20%

(Reporting by Rudra Pratap Singh in Bengaluru)

(([email protected]))

Adds new quotes

Sept 4 (Reuters) - India late on Wednesday announced tax cuts on hundreds of consumer items ranging from soaps to small cars to spur domestic demand, and simplified its complicated goods and services tax structure to two rate slabs from four, with some exceptions for luxury and "sin" goods.

The benchmark BSE Sensex .BSESN and Nifty 50 .NSEI rose 0.8% each in early sessions.

Here is how the industry has reacted so far:

ANISH SHAH, GROUP CEO & MD, MAHINDRA GROUP

"The next-generation GST reforms... mark a defining moment in India's journey towards building a simpler, fairer, and more inclusive tax system.

At Mahindra, we view these reforms as transformative. They simplify compliance, expand affordability, and energise consumption, while enabling industry to invest with greater confidence."

SAURABH AGARWAL, PARTNER & AUTOMOTIVE TAX LEADER, EY INDIA

"The rationalization of GST rates on automotive vehicles and parts is a truly welcome and significant development. By making vehicles more affordable across all segments, this move will not only boost consumer spending but also simplify complex classification disputes that have long burdened the industry."

SAMIR SHAH, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR & CFO, HDFC ERGO GENERAL INSURANCE COMPANY

"The GST Council decision to exempt individual health insurance from GST is a welcome development. This move aligns perfectly with the broader ambition of the regulator of 'Insurance for All by 2047,' providing a tangible step forward in that direction.

While it is anticipated that there will be lowering of the premiums due to lowering of the taxes, we are yet to understand the extent of this reduction as this will also depend upon availability of the input tax credit, which will become clearer over the coming days.”

NILESH SHAH, MANAGING DIRECTOR, KOTAK MAHINDRA ASSET MANAGEMENT CO

"The GST announcement lowers inflation, increases growth, boosts consumer sentiment, doesn't disturb the path of fiscal consolidation, improves ease of doing business and partially offers adverse effects of tariffs."

SHAILESH CHANDRA, PRESIDENT SOCIETY OF INDIAN AUTOMOBILE MANUFACTURES

"This timely move is set to bring renewed cheer to consumers and inject fresh momentum into the Indian Automotive sector. Making vehicles more affordable, particularly in the entry-level segment; these announcements will significantly benefit

first-time buyers and middle-income families, enabling broader access to personal mobility."

C S VIGNESHWAR, PRESIDENT, FEDERATION OF AUTOMOBILE DEALERS ASSOCIATIONS

"The 56th GST Council meeting marks a watershed moment for India's automobile retail industry. This is a decisive step that will boost affordability, spur demand, and make India's mobility ecosystem stronger and more inclusive.

One area that may needs earliest clarification is about levy and treatment of cess balances currently lying in dealers' books, so that there is no ambiguity during transition."

SANJEEV ASTHANA, CEO, PATANJALI FOODS LIMITED.

"At Patanjali Foods, we are fully committed to passing on these benefits to our consumers. This initiative will not only enhance FMCG penetration across urban and rural India but also act as a catalyst for broader economic revival by lifting consumption and supporting allied sectors.

Our categories such as ghee, soaps, biscuits, noodles, honey, and chyawanprash will benefit from this reduction."

RADHIKA RAO, SENIOR ECONOMIST AT DBS BANK IN SINGAPORE

Lower GST rates will be positive for growth in the second half of the year and FY27, besides improving operational efficiency and expanding the size of the formal economy.

GARIMA KAPOOR, ECONOMIST, INSTITUTIONAL EQUITIES, ELARA SECURITIES, MUMBAI

"We expect GST related demand boost to add 100 to 120 bps to the GDP growth over next 4-6 quarters, thereby nullifying the negative impact of higher tariffs on exports to US. We remain constructive on the uptick in consumption demand in the economy as multiple policy levers turn favourable for the first time in a decade."

SHRIPAL SHAH, MD & CEO, KOTAK SECURITIES

"The GST rate cuts come at the right time which is just ahead of the festive season and against the backdrop of US tariff tiffs. Lower taxes on essentials, FMCG products, autos and cement will leave consumers with more money in hand.

This should directly boost demand, help traders and businesses see higher volumes, and may even favourably impact next quarter's earnings. It also carries the potential to ease inflation. The key will be how quickly companies pass on the benefits to customers."

DEVARSH VAKIL, HEAD OF PRIME RESEARCH AT HDFC SECURITIES

"The GST reforms represent a paradigm shift toward economic rationality, with rate reductions on essentials like dairy, medicines, and food directly benefiting consumers due to their inelastic nature.

Combined with RBI rate cuts, FY26 income tax rebates, and moderating inflation, these reforms create multiple stimuli for consumption and economic growth."

(Reporting by Chandini Monnappa, Bharath Rajeswaran and Manvi Pant in Bengaluru; Editing by Mrigank Dhaniwala and Nivedita Bhattacharjee)

(([email protected]; https://www.linkedin.com/in/chandini-monnappa-8a37b013b/;))

The author is a Reuters Breakingviews columnist. The opinions expressed are her own.

By Shritama Bose

MUMBAI, Aug 25 (Reuters Breakingviews) - A small paradox is gripping India's capital markets. The rise of institutional investors is pushing down overall shareholding levels of powerful private backers of companies, including tycoons. But other indicators point to this cohort's growing influence in the $4 trillion economy.

So-called promoter shareholdings in public firms fell to 40.58%, an eight-year low, per an analysis by PRIME Database of 2,086 companies listed on the main board of the National Stock Exchange. Over the past three years, promoters' share has fallen by 455 basis points, the research shows.

The quirky term is rooted in post-independence India's encouragement of entrepreneurs to promote local enterprise and describes owners that have large sway over the affairs of a company. These days, it assumes a mildly pejorative edge, making private banks and startups flaunt their lack of promoters as shorthand for good governance.

One reason for the rapid fall in their holdings from a peak of 45% in 2022 is an increase in listings of companies backed by financial sponsors like $32 billion food delivery firm Eternal ETEA.NS and its rival Swiggy SWIG.NS.

Older behemoths are warming up to external capital, too, though tycoons are hawking minority stakes in unlisted businesses. Mukesh Ambani's Reliance Industries RELI.NS sold shares in its retail and telecom units to investors from Meta META.O to KKR KKR.N in 2020 to cut debt, and Tata Motors TAMO.NS had TPG TPG.O jump in as a backer of its electric-vehicle unit in 2021.

Yet the reality on the ground suggests a tightening, not loosening, of their control. As global companies enter India, promoter-backed businesses are emerging as partners of choice. Fast fashion giant Shein has entered an alliance with Reliance Industries, and MG Motor has teamed up with Sajjan Jindal-backed JSW.

It's a result of New Delhi's protectionist policies and entrants' desire to scale up fast, but also a growing perception that it is not possible to win against the top domestic industrialists. M&A by large groups is reducing competition, too; Adani's Ambuja Cements ABUJ.NS and UltraTech ULTC.NS owner Kumar Mangalam Birla are rearranging the country's cement industry into a duopoly.

In fact, India Inc.'s shunning of leverage since the pandemic reduces the necessity of large owners to dilute their equity. Promoter entities own 50.07% of Reliance and up to 75% in each of the 10 listed Adani Group companies. The position of India's most powerful promoters is far from getting demoted.

Follow Shritama Bose on Linkedin and X.

CONTEXT NEWS

Stakes held by powerful private shareholders, known as promoters, in large Indian companies have fallen to an eight-year low in India.

Such shareholdings on the main board of the National Stock Exchange fell to 40.58% in June, per an analysis of 2,086 companies by PRIME Database.

Over the past three years, promoters' share has fallen by 455 basis points from 45.13% on March 31, 2022, the research shows.

(Editing by Una Galani; Production by Ujjaini Dutta)

((For previous columns by the author, Reuters customers can click on BOSE/[email protected]))

Repeats story from August 14 without changes

By Aditya Kalra

NEW DELHI, Aug 14 (Reuters) - Publicis has sued India's antitrust watchdog for denying access to case files in a high-profile price-fixing investigation of ad agencies, after the French group failed to get the probe stalled until it could review the documents, court filings show.

The Competition Commission of India (CCI) shook India's near-$30 billion media and entertainment sector in March with dawn raids at WPP's WPP.L GroupM, Dentsu 4324.T, Publicis PUBP.PA, Omnicom OMC.N and many other agencies over suspected collusion over publicity rates and discounts.

Details of cartel cases are kept confidential in India, but Reuters has reported that the CCI's initial assessment found the firms used a WhatsApp group to coordinate and agree on pricing, entered into secret pacts, and colluded with broadcasters to deny business to agencies that didn't comply.

Concerned the CCI has not responded to its requests in recent months to provide access to case files, Publicis approached the Delhi High Court on August 11 asking judges to order the watchdog to accede to its requests, according to its non-public filing reviewed by Reuters on Thursday.

Publicis and its employees in India are "unable to understand the allegations against them and prepare a defence in the absence of the case records", it said in the filing.

The CCI did not respond to Reuters queries, and the court is likely to hear Publicis' case next week.

The filing was made by TLG India, which its court papers said "is the legal entity that houses majority of the advertising business of the Publicis group in India".

The antitrust investigation was triggered by Dentsu disclosing alleged industry malpractices to the CCI in February 2024 under the regulator's leniency program, which allows lesser penalties for firms that share evidence of malpractice.

Publicis is the first company to file a lawsuit related to the high-profile CCI investigation in court.

Filings showed the company urged the CCI in July that "further investigation remain in abeyance till" it is granted inspection of case records.

CCI investigations typically take several months. The regulator has powers to impose financial penalties on the media agencies of up to three times their profit or 10% of an Indian entity's global turnover, whichever is higher, for each year of wrongdoing.

Publicis' court filing also showed the CCI in July asked for a brief note from the company about its business model, and how operations are coordinated with the parent entity.

On August 4, the CCI issued summons to Publicis' South Asia chief Anupriya Acharya to appear before investigators, and provide documents such as copies of key contracts involving Publicis and its Indian entities, including on revenue sharing.

Acharya did not respond to Reuters queries, and Publicis has asked the court to quash the summon.

(Reporting by Aditya Kalra; editing by Giles Elgood)

((Email: [email protected]; X: @adityakalra;))

By Aditya Kalra

NEW DELHI, Aug 14 (Reuters) - Publicis has sued India's antitrust watchdog for denying access to case files in a high-profile price-fixing investigation of ad agencies, after the French group failed to get the probe stalled until it could review the documents, court filings show.

The Competition Commission of India (CCI) shook India's near-$30 billion media and entertainment sector in March with dawn raids at WPP's WPP.L GroupM, Dentsu 4324.T, Publicis PUBP.PA, Omnicom OMC.N and many other agencies over suspected collusion over publicity rates and discounts.

Details of cartel cases are kept confidential in India, but Reuters has reported that the CCI's initial assessment found the firms used a WhatsApp group to coordinate and agree on pricing, entered into secret pacts, and colluded with broadcasters to deny business to agencies that didn't comply.

Concerned the CCI has not responded to its requests in recent months to provide access to case files, Publicis approached the Delhi High Court on August 11 asking judges to order the watchdog to accede to its requests, according to its non-public filing reviewed by Reuters on Thursday.

Publicis and its employees in India are "unable to understand the allegations against them and prepare a defence in the absence of the case records", it said in the filing.

The CCI did not respond to Reuters queries, and the court is likely to hear Publicis' case next week.

The filing was made by TLG India, which its court papers said "is the legal entity that houses majority of the advertising business of the Publicis group in India".

The antitrust investigation was triggered by Dentsu disclosing alleged industry malpractices to the CCI in February 2024 under the regulator's leniency program, which allows lesser penalties for firms that share evidence of malpractice.

Publicis is the first company to file a lawsuit related to the high-profile CCI investigation in court.

Filings showed the company urged the CCI in July that "further investigation remain in abeyance till" it is granted inspection of case records.

CCI investigations typically take several months. The regulator has powers to impose financial penalties on the media agencies of up to three times their profit or 10% of an Indian entity's global turnover, whichever is higher, for each year of wrongdoing.

Publicis' court filing also showed the CCI in July asked for a brief note from the company about its business model, and how operations are coordinated with the parent entity.

On August 4, the CCI issued summons to Publicis' South Asia chief Anupriya Acharya to appear before investigators, and provide documents such as copies of key contracts involving Publicis and its Indian entities, including on revenue sharing.

Acharya did not respond to Reuters queries, and Publicis has asked the court to quash the summon.

(Reporting by Aditya Kalra; editing by Giles Elgood)

((Email: [email protected]; X: @adityakalra;))

** Shares of India's food and grocery delivery platform Swiggy SWIG.NS rise 2.8% to 396 rupees

** Swiggy has initiated the process of divesting its stake of around 12% in startup Rapido, local news website Moneycontrol reports citing sources

** Swiggy plans to fully exit its investment in the ride-hailing platform firm, targeting 25 bln rupees ($285.2 mln) from the sale

** Swiggy and Rapido did not immediately respond to Reuters requests for comments

** Stock down ~29% YTD

($1 = 87.6740 Indian rupees)

(Reporting by Yagnoseni Das in Bengaluru)

(([email protected];))

** MSCI likely to add India's Vishal Mega Mart VSSL.NS, Swiggy SWIG.NS, Hitachi Energy HITN.NS and Waaree Energies WAAN.NS to its standard index as part of August rejig, says Nuvama

** Believes Sona BLW SONB.NS and Thermax THMX.NS could be dropped from index

** Nuvama expects MSCI to add 12 Indian firms to its smallcap index, while removing four

** Index provider scheduled to announce quarterly index review on August 8, changes to take effect on August 26

** SWIG down 2.4% and VSSL up 2.3% on day

(Reporting by Vivek Kumar M)

(([email protected];))

** Shares of India's Swiggy SWIG.NS down 2.6% to 393.45 rupees

** Instamart parent's June-quarter loss nearly doubles on higher marketing spends

** CLSA ("outperform") says while SWIG is forecast to hit contribution margin break-even between Q3 FY26 and Q1 FY27, the results did not demonstrate a clear path to meet this target

** Brokerage cuts PT on SWIG to 473 rupees from 500 rupees

** Meanwhile, Morgan Stanley ("overweight," PT: 450 rupees) says SWIG's weaker pace of store additions vs rival Eternal's ETEA.NS Blinkit worries investors

** JP Morgan ("overweight") says SWIG's margin contraction was a disappointment, adding that co's cash burn is a concern

** JPM cuts PT on stock to 476 rupees from 500 rupees

** YTD, SWIG down 28% vs ETEA's 10.4% climb

(Reporting by Kashish Tandon in Bengaluru)

(([email protected]))

July 31 (Reuters) - Swiggy Ltd SWIG.NS:

• Q1 CONSOL NET LOSS 11.97 BILLION RUPEES

• Q1 CONSOL REVENUE FROM OPERATIONS 49.61 BILLION RUPEES

Source text: [ID:]

Further company coverage: SWIG.NS

(([email protected];;))

Adds details, background from paragraph 2 onwards

July 22 (Reuters) - Indian online delivery firm Eternal ETEA.NS jumped nearly 15% on Tuesday after the parent of Zomato and Blinkit reported robust quarterly revenue, lifting expectations for continued growth in its quick-commerce business.

Blinkit, which promises everything from salt to iPhones in under 10 minutes, is widely seen as the front-runner by analysts despite growing pressure from players such as BigBasket, Flipkart, Swiggy SWIG.NS and Amazon AMZN.O.

"We overestimated the competitive threat," analysts at Jefferies said, citing the unit's growth, improved margins and expectations of higher growth in the future.

At least ten brokerages hiked price targets on the stock after results, while at least four upgraded ratings, data compiled by LSEG showed.

The median price target on the stock has risen to 311 rupees from 287.5 rupees a month ago, the data showed.

Shares of the company rose 14.6% to 311.25 rupees as of 9:42 a.m. IST and were the top gainer on benchmark Nifty 50 index .NSEI, which trading flat.

Shares of rival Swiggy were up 5.3% on the day.

Eternal's food delivery business, Zomato, is its profitable arm and has historically contributed the larger share of revenue, but Blinkit is closing the gap fast.

Analysts at Nuvama said Blinkit "outshines on growth", as Eternal's quick commerce business posted a 127% on-year rise in net order value at 92.03 billion rupees ($1.07 billion), surpassing growth at its food-delivery business for the first time.

($1 = 86.2270 Indian rupees)

(Reporting by Manvi Pant; Editing by Nivedita Bhattacharjee)

(([email protected]; +918447554364;))

July 21 (Reuters) - Indian online delivery firm Eternal ETEA.NS posted a 90% drop in first-quarter profit on Monday, weighed by higher costs at its quick-commerce arm Blinkit, which delivers everything from groceries to electronics in under 10 minutes.

Consolidated net profit fell to 250 million rupees ($2.90 million) for the three months ended June 30, the food and grocery delivery firm said.

($1 = 86.2775 Indian rupees)

(Reporting by Ananta Agarwal in Bengaluru; Editing by Sumana Nandy and Chandini Monnappa)

(([email protected];))

The author is a Reuters Breakingviews columnist. The opinions expressed are her own.

By Ujjaini Dutta

BENGALURU, July 9 (Reuters Breakingviews) - India’s food delivery duopoly is brushing off the imminent entry of a low-fee champion. Shares of $28 billion Eternal ETEA.NS, formerly known as Zomato, and Swiggy SWIG.NS, have recovered since early June when Rapido’s intention to slash food delivery charges was reported by local media. But the industry is ripe for disruption.

Rapido, which began life as a bike taxi firm a decade ago, aims to nearly halve the duo's “take rates” - the percentage of the total transaction value the companies keep as revenue for facilitating orders and deliveries, usually commissions paid by restaurants or delivery charges by customers. Zomato and Swiggy's at 24.4% and 21.9% respectively are much higher than global peers, per HSBC, easily besting China’s Meituan's 3690.HK 16.1%.

To be sure, other mobility providers have tried and failed to muscle into food delivery. Rapido, though, has chipped away at Ola and Uber’s grip on ride-hailing by focusing on affordability. It has captured a majority share of the bike taxi market, 33% of three-wheelers, and near-20% of four-wheelers, according to Motilal Oswal, a brokerage. The company's latest fundraising round valued it at $1.1 billion and it is profitable on an EBITDA basis. Now it wants to utilise its 4 million rider network to deliver meals outside of peak travel hours.

Besides inviting new competition, India’s high take rates may explain why industry growth is slowing. Take Eternal. Food delivery is its biggest business, accounting for 38% of its top line. But the segment's gross order value grew just 16% year-on-year in the quarter ended March and 17% in the December quarter - missing the company's own guidance of 20%.

The company led by Deepinder Goyal charges an average take rate of about 24%, per Visible Alpha, enough to generate a profit per order. If Eternal adopts a similar rate as Meituan, its adjusted food delivery revenue would drop by about one-third, according to Breakingviews' calculations. That would make it harder for Eternal to support its other loss-making businesses, including quick commerce.

Swiggy may ultimately share in any success of Rapido if the upstart defies expectations. It owns about 13% of its wannabe rival and both share Dutch investor Prosus PRX.AS as a backer. For now, Rapido's entry was the subject of the first question Swiggy CEO Sriharsha Majety faced at Prosus’ Capital Markets Day late last month. A high-fee business model in a price-sensitive country will keep the market on edge.

Follow Ujjaini Dutta on LinkedIn and X.

CONTEXT NEWS

Ride-hailing startup Rapido is set to roll out a pilot of its food delivery service, Ownly, in Bengaluru this week, The Economic Times reported on July 2, citing people directly aware of the developments.

The firm is planning to charge restaurant commissions in the 8-15% range, the report added.

(Editing by Una Galani; Production by Aditya srivastav)

((For previous columns by the author, Reuters customers can click on DUTTA/[email protected]))

July 3 (Reuters) - Swiggy Ltd SWIG.NS:

• CITIGROUP GLOBAL MARKETS MAURITIUS SELLS 320,421 SHARES OF INDIA'S SWIGGY AT 381 RUPEESPER SHARE VIA BLOCK DEAL - EXCHANGE DATA

Source text: [ID:]

Further company coverage: SWIG.NS

(([email protected];;))

** Food and grocery delivery platform Swiggy SWIG.NS up 2.2% to 399.85 rupees

** About 874,486 Swiggy shares changed hands in three block deals priced between 395 and 400.5 rupees per share, as per data compiled by LSEG

** Block deals at nearly 1%-2.4% premium on last closing price of 391.15 rupees

** YTD - SWIG down 26%, rival Zomato-parent Eternal ETEA.NS down 7%

(Reporting by Manvi Pant in Bengaluru)

(([email protected]; +918447554364;))

June 20 (Reuters) - Indian courier delivery firm Delhivery DELH.NS launched its short-haul parcel transport service in two locations on Friday, ramping up competition in a market dominated by the likes of Uber UBER.N and Kedaara Capital-backed Porter.

Near-distance parcel delivery - often within city limits - has grown increasingly popular, following the success of quick-commerce delivery services, where everything from milk to mobile phones is delivered within 10 minutes.

Currently, Uber, Swiggy SWIG.NS-backed ride-hailing app Rapido and Porter are among firms that ferry parcels from one area of a city to another.

Delhivery's service is currently live only in the national capital region and the southern IT hub of Bengaluru, but the company aims to rapidly expand to other key metro cities, MD and CEO Sahil Barua said in a statement.

Third-party logistics firms, including Delhivery, have been looking for options to diversify as their mainstay long-haul freight businesses battle intense competition from in-house logistics arms of e-commerce giants such as Amazon AMZN.O and Walmart WMT.N-backed Flipkart.

(Reporting by Hritam Mukherjee in Bengaluru; Editing by Janane Venkatraman)

(([email protected]; X: @MukherjeeHritam;))

Repeats story published during Asian hours; no changes to text

By Aditya Kalra

NEW DELHI, June 19 (Reuters) - Omnicom Media's India chief was frustrated. It was October 5, 2023 and a rival was trying to poach the U.S. firm's client by offering lower prices, just weeks after global advertising agencies and broadcasters struck secret pacts on ad rates in the South Asian country.

The attempt to woo the client violated the agencies' agreement, Omnicom Media's India CEO Kartik Sharma wrote in a WhatsApp group comprising a who's who of advertising, according to excerpts of the discussion documented by antitrust investigators and verified by Reuters.

"This kind of practice is not in the spirit of what we are collectively trying to achieve," Sharma wrote, without identifying the parties.

Shashi Sinha, then India CEO of New York-based IPG Mediabrands, suggested an industry group should "admonish the agency".

The exchanges form part of a confidential dossier compiled by India's antitrust watchdog that chronicles how global advertising companies, including leading U.S. and European firms, coordinated to rig prices in the world's most populous nation.

Reuters reviewed evidence from the Competition Commission of India (CCI) investigation, including a 10-page document with messages and records of meetings between top advertising executives, and two industry agreements under scrutiny for antitrust violations; and interviewed two people familiar with the probe.

The key details, which haven't been previously reported, centre on WhatsApp interactions involving 11 industry executives. They include the top India or South Asia executives of WPP's WPP.L GroupM; U.S.-based Omnicom Media OMC.N and Interpublic's IPG.N IPG Mediabrands; France's Publicis PUBP.PA and Havas Media HAVAS.AS; Japan's Dentsu 4324.T and India's Madison World.

Over WhatsApp and in meetings, the executives coordinated responses to clients, which "resulted in alignment of competing advertising agencies," CCI officials said in the August 9 dossier, determining on an initial basis that the conduct contravened competition law.

The firms agreed to cooperate on pricing, including not to undercut each other; colluded with broadcasters to deny business to agencies that didn't comply; and discussed financial terms involving at least four Indian clients over conference calls, according to the investigation documents.

The documents don't indicate whether the agencies' foreign headquarters were aware of the executives' actions.

A spokesperson for WPP Media, which until May was known as GroupM, told Reuters it was aware of the investigation but declined to comment further.

A Dentsu India spokesperson confirmed Reuters reporting that it had disclosed industry practices to the CCI in February 2024 under the regulator's leniency program, which enables lesser penalties for firms that share evidence of malpractice. The spokesperson didn't address specific evidence raised in the dossier but said the firm had implemented stricter audits and controls.

The other agencies and their executives didn't respond to Reuters questions about the antitrust probe and information in the dossier. The regulator also didn't respond to queries.

Reuters has reported that in March, as part of the continuing investigation, the regulator raided the Indian offices of many advertising firms and an industry group that represents broadcasters, including the Reliance-Disney venture and Sony 6758.T.

CCI investigations typically take several months. The regulator can't press criminal charges, but can impose financial penalties on the media agencies of up to three times their profit or 10% of an Indian entity's global turnover, whichever is higher, for each year of wrongdoing.

SECRET PACTS

WPP Media, the world's largest media buying agency, last year - when it was still known as GroupM - won new India business worth $447 million, followed by Omnicom's $183 million, according to research firm COMvergence.

But India's near-$30 billion media and entertainment sector is grappling with weak consumer sentiment. Ad spending will rise 7% to $19 billion in 2025, the slowest growth in three years, according to GroupM estimates.

The CCI is investigating the role of two industry bodies, the Advertising Agencies Association of India (AAAI) and the Indian Broadcasting & Digital Foundation (IBDF), in orchestrating the suspected cartel.

The former group is led by WPP Media India head Prasanth Kumar, while the broadcasting body's president is Kevin Vaz, a top Reliance-Disney venture executive. Neither industry group responded to requests for comment.

The dossier shows the AAAI circulated guidelines to ad agencies in August 2023: They must charge clients whose annual spending exceeds $29 million a minimum 3% commission for digital ads and 2.5% for traditional media. Lower-spending clients would pay higher minimum commissions of up to 8%.

A month later, the industry associations entered a joint pact, agreeing no agency would "unilaterally offer any discount" on rates while pitching for business.

The pact, reviewed by Reuters, declared its aim was to eliminate "lower pricing as a reason to award a pitch".

The advertising firms began coordinating their activities at least as early as August 2023, according to the CCI documents.

Ad executives who met on December 1 that year hailed their collaboration as a "great success" and resolved to continue, according to meeting minutes cited in the CCI's evidence.

'ALL ALIGNED'

In the U.S., the Federal Trade Commission this month sought information from advertising agencies as part of a probe into whether they coordinated boycotts of certain sites. The Justice Department in 2016 probed agencies it suspected of rigging bids to favour in-house units, but eventually closed the case without bringing charges.

Brewer Anheuser-Busch InBev used CCI's leniency program to blow the whistle on an industry cartel in India in 2017.

In the case of the ad industry, Dentsu India told Reuters it filed its leniency application with the CCI not as a reaction to external pressure but out of a decision to "support reform from within".

Two people with knowledge of the matter told Reuters the evidence Dentsu submitted included a transcript of the WhatsApp group. The group, formed in August 2023 and reviewed in part by Reuters, was named "AAAI media agencies" and contained scores of chat messages.

Participants included Kumar of WPP's media company, Sharma of Omnicom Media, IPG Mediabrands' Sinha, Havas Media India CEO Mohit Joshi, Dentsu South Asia CEO Harsha Razdan and then-media business CEO Anita Kotwani, Publicis South Asia chief Anupriya Acharya and Madison boss Sam Balsara, the investigators' evidence shows.

Members of the group discussed advertising pitches and coordinated on interactions with clients such as food delivery giant Swiggy SWIG.NS, drug maker Cipla CIPL.NS, SoftBank-backed e-commerce firm Meesho, and Kshema Insurance.

In Swiggy's case, the AAAI arranged a Zoom call with media agency heads to discuss the company's advertising pitch. Later, GroupM's Kumar, as AAAI president, suggested an email response to Swiggy explaining the industry's agreed position on rebates.

"Ok all aligned thanks," he wrote after a consensus emerged.

Kshema told Reuters the insurer was unaware of the matter. The other clients didn't respond to questions.

During another discussion on client rebates, an unspecified Dentsu executive told rivals over WhatsApp that "the lowest we go to is retain 30% and 70% we pass back to the client," according to the CCI dossier.

CCI officials noted in the document that advertisers and the broadcasters' group had sought to penalise enterprises that didn't comply with the pricing pacts.

In an email to Walt Disney DIS.N in August 2023, Kumar wrote that broadcasters should refrain from granting business to a firm that had breached the pacts, ITW Consulting, though he said it had later agreed not to approach clients directly.

ITW didn't respond to Reuters questions.

Tensions heated up again over WhatsApp three months later.

Sharma, of Omnicom Media, learned that ITW had done another "direct deal with a client of ours" for advertising on streaming platform Hotstar, which was run by Disney.

This irked Sharma, as Hotstar had the rights for the cricket World Cup held in India at the time.

"This nuisance has to stop," he wrote in the group.

(Reporting by Aditya Kalra in New Delhi; additional reporting by Jody Godoy in New York and Munsif Vengattil in Bengaluru; editing by David Crawshaw.)

((Email: [email protected]; X: @adityakalra;))

** Amazon's AMZN.O "Now" will need to scale up more to become a "meaningful player" in the Indian quick-commerce sector, according to Jefferies

** Brokerage says Amazon's venture is in its "early days" and although it does go fairly well beyond grocery and offers high discounts, it trails incumbents

** Quick-commerce has become mainstream, with some places seeing as many as six different platforms - Jefferies

** Keeping an eye on emerging rivals would be important for Zomato-parent Eternal ETEA.NS and Swiggy SWIG.NS too, Jefferies adds

** On Monday, ETEA up 0.8% to 251 rupees, SWIG gains 1.9% to 361 rupees

** Eternal's "Blinkit" and Swiggy's "Instamart" compete with IPO-bound Zepto, Walmart WMT.N-backed Flipkart's "Minutes" and Tata-owned BigBasket

(Reporting by Hritam Mukherjee in Bengaluru)

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The authors are Reuters Breakingviews columnists. The opinions expressed are their own. Refile to remove hyperlink in Context News.

By Shritama Bose, Ujjaini Dutta

MUMBAI/BENGALURU, June 11 (Reuters Breakingviews) - The hottest corner of India's e-commerce market is running on fumes. Nexus Venture Partners-backed Zepto, the money-losing startup that delivers everything from onions to speakers in 10 minutes, is deferring plans to go public by a year as it struggles to cut costs, news website Moneycontrol reported last week. Rival offerings from Eternal ETEA.NS, formerly Zomato, and Swiggy SWIG.NS are bleeding cash too. The sensible - and likely - next move for all three would be to stop offering ultra-quick deliveries at all.

The combination of densely populated cities like Mumbai and New Delhi plus abundant cheap labour made it look possible that India could pull off a delivery model that has failed elsewhere, and spawned an industry Bernstein estimates is worth $10 billion. As the top player in the space with a 43% share by monthly active users, Zepto looked like a winner. Its valuation nearly quadrupled to $5 billion in the 12 months to August 2024.

Almost a year on, the euphoria looks hard to sustain. Adjusted EBITDA losses at Swiggy's Instamart and Eternal's Blinkit widened in the first three months of this year due to an aggressive expansion of so-called dark stores that also act as mini-warehouses. More spending is underway: HSBC expects Zepto to increase its dark stores by 18% to 1,000. Competition is intensifying too: Tata group-backed BigBasket is entering the 10-minute food delivery space, going up against Blinkit's Bistro and Zepto's Cafe, Reuters reported on Tuesday.

It's not clear if and when 10-minute deliveries can turn a sustainable profit. At least Swiggy and Eternal have other businesses to cushion the blow. But for Zepto, which will struggle to replicate its model beyond big cities, the pressure to stem its losses is mounting. Founders Aadit Palicha and Kaivalya Vohra are eyeing the high-yield loan market and say the company will be close to breaking even on EBITDA and operating cash flow in three months.

Meanwhile, public market investors are pickier. Electric-scooter maker Ather Energy ATHR.NS and Brookfield-backed luxury hotel chain Schloss Bangalore SCHL.NS had weak trading debuts despite downsized offers. Investors' patience with unprofitable startups is running thin after Ola Electric Mobility's OLAE.NS disastrous run since its August listing. Shares of Eternal and Swiggy are down by up to a third this year, while the benchmark Nifty 50 Index .NSEI has risen.

All this should be enough to prompt a serious rethink of whether it's worth trying to deliver someone an onion, or anything else, in under 10 minutes.

Follow Shritama Bose on LinkedIn and X and Ujjaini Dutta on LinkedIn and X.

CONTEXT NEWS

Tata group-backed grocery delivery service BigBasket plans to launch 10-minute food delivery services by the end of March 2026, co-founder Vipul Parekh told Reuters on June 10.

Online quick commerce startup Zepto has pushed back its plan to go public in India by a year to 2026, news website Moneycontrol reported on June 4, citing unnamed people aware of the development.

(Editing by Robyn Mak; Production by Aditya Srivastav)

((For previous columns by the authors, Reuters customers can click on BOSE/[email protected]; DUTTA/[email protected]))

By Sai Ishwarbharath B and Praveen Paramasivam

BENGALURU, June 10 (Reuters) - India's BigBasket plans to roll out 10-minute food delivery services nationwide by the end of fiscal 2026 as competition intensifies in the $7.1 billion quick-commerce space, its executive told Reuters on Tuesday.

The Tata-backed grocery giant will take on established players such as Swiggy's SWIG.NS Snacc, Blinkit's ETEA.NS Bistro and Zepto Cafe KIRK.NS, which already deliver coffee and ready-to-eat snacks in less than 15 minutes.

BigBasket is targeting customers of the existing food delivery firms such as Zomato and Swiggy while also unlocking a new pool of customers, co-founder Vipul Parekh told Reuters.

It plans to use dark stores to fuel the service, Parekh added, extending its foothold in India's booming quick-commerce market, which Blume Venture's Indus Valley report calls the "fastest-growing industry segment ever."

Dark stores are small warehouses in densely populated neighbourhood buildings, where delivery partners, typically two-wheeler riders, pick up groceries or food for delivery.

BigBasket, which brought online grocery delivery service to India in 2011, aims to increase its dark store count from about 700 currently to 1,000-1,200 by the end of 2025.

Following a pilot run that began a month ago in the southern city of Bengaluru, the food delivery service will now be expanded to 40 dark stores by July-end, Parekh said.

Currently, about 5%-10% of BigBasket's customers who are offered the service are clubbing quick-food items with their normal online orders, but this is expected to grow further, he added.

The menu will comprise items from coffee chain Starbucks and Indian Hotels' IHTL.NS food arm Qmin, both part of the Tata group in India. No external restaurants will be partnered with, the firm said.

Meanwhile, Parekh dismissed media reports of BigBasket seeking external investors for fundraising and reiterated the company's plan to go public within the next 18-24 months.

"One of the advantages we have is, being a part of Tata Group, you have enough internal capital available."

(Reporting by Sai Ishwarbharath B and Praveen Paramasivam; Editing by Sumana Nandy)

(([email protected];))

Adds details throughout

By Praveen Paramasivam and Haripriya Suresh

June 9 (Reuters) - Rapido is entering the food delivery segment with a new platform that charges restaurants a fixed fee per order, according to a proposal to restaurants seen by Reuters on Monday, as the Indian ride-hailing platform looks to compete with Swiggy SWIG.NS and Eternal's ETEA.NS Zomato.

Swiggy and Zomato charge commission fees ranging from 16% to 30% on restaurant partners. Restaurants argue this forces them to inflate menu prices on these platforms, resulting in higher prices for consumers compared to in-store dining.

Rapido, Eternal and Swiggy did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

In its proposal, Rapido has asked partners to keep its pricing the same on the platform and in-store, with restaurants paying a fixed delivery fee of 25 rupees ($0.2919) and taxes for orders worth more than 100 rupees.

Customers would not need to pay platform or packaging fees, but will be charged a small delivery fee for orders below 100 rupees. The proposal did not specify what the fee would be or whether customers would be charged for orders above 100 rupees.

The firm will charge a flat subscription fee from restaurants at a later time, the proposal added.

Rapido, in which Swiggy is an investor, was valued at $1.1 billion in its last funding round in 2024, according to data from Tracxn.

Shares of Eternal and Swiggy closed 1.9% and 2.6% lower on Monday, respectively.

In a post-earnings call with analysts earnings last month, when asked about reports of Rapido's subscription-based model, Eternal CFO Akshant Goyal said he was not clear "how that model can make sense in the long run for all our stakeholders and us".

($1 = 85.6420 Indian rupees)

(Reporting by Praveen Paramasivam in Chennai and Haripriya Suresh; Editing by Janane Venkatraman)

(([email protected]; +91 867-525-3569;))

** Shares of food delivery co's Swiggy SWIG.NS fall 4.7% to 305.35 rupees apiece; rival Eternal ETEA.NS down 2.5%

** SWIG loses as much as 7.27% to hit lowest since listing in November 2024

** Trading volume at 54.28 million shares, nearly 6x the 30-day average

** A six-month lock-in period for pre-IPO shareholders and non-promoters expired on Monday, releasing ~1.9 billion shares (83% of total shareholding) for trading on the day

** "SWIG's pre-IPO shareholders are already sitting on significant unrealized gains, at least some investors will be eager to liquidate their holding even though the stock is trading below its IPO price of 390 rupees," says JM Financial

** Avg rating is "buy"; median TP 415 rupees - data compiled by LSEG; ETEA also rated "buy" on avg

** SWIG down 41% YTD, ETEA down 14%

(Reporting by Bharath Rajeswaran in Bengaluru)

(([email protected]; +91 9769003463;))

The author is a Reuters Breakingviews columnist. The opinions expressed are her own. Updates to add graphic.

By Ujjaini Dutta

BENGALURU, May 12 (Reuters Breakingviews) - Swiggy SWIG.NS is feeling the heat in the kitchen. The $9 billion Indian food delivery company backed by Dutch investor Prosus PRX.AS is sinking deeper into the red and its stock is trading 20% below the price of its November initial public offering. Co-founder and CEO Sriharsha Majety's assurance that its investments in quick commerce have peaked will not provide much comfort.

Swiggy on Friday reported revenue of 45.3 billion rupees($530.5 million) in the March quarter, up 44% from a year earlier, but its net loss roughly doubled to nearly 11 billion rupees. In its core, mature business of connecting restaurants to hungry consumers, Swiggy retains a formidable duopoly with rival Eternal ETEA.NS, previously known as Zomato. Where things are less palatable is in its fast-growing, money-losing quick commerce unit.

Instamart, which delivers consumers everything from onions to toilet paper, typically within 10 to 15 minutes, generates 15% of Swiggy's top line. It boasts over 1,000 small distribution hubs, or dark stores, and added more of these in the recent quarter than during the past eight quarters combined. Yet Majety's pledge to progressively unwind losses from here on risks leaving Swiggy on the back foot against the competition.

For a start, Eternal's Blinkit, India's quick commerce market leader, boasts 1,300 dark stores. Even if Swiggy's choice to rely on some larger hubs that process more orders than dark stores proves effective, Blinkit is backed by a profitable company whose bottom line is forecast to grow exponentially over the next three years.

By contrast, Swiggy won't turn a profit for two years, analysts' estimates compiled by Visible Alpha show. Zepto, the number two player in quick commerce, shows no signs of hitting the brake on investments either.

That's a serious problem because companies that deliver groceries to Indians including Flipkart and BigBasket are also trying to break into quick commerce. These rivals are backed by deep-pocketed giants Walmart WMT.N and the Tata conglomerate. Swiggy's annual net loss exceeds the cash and cash equivalents on its consolidated balance sheet as of March.

Shares of the Mumbai-listed company were flat on Monday morning following the results despite the expiration on the same day of a lock-up period in which insiders and pre-IPO investors were prohibited from selling. Shareholders clearly do not have the appetite to stomach huge losses, but despite calling peak investment Swiggy is not in an appetising position.

Follow @ujjainidutta_

CONTEXT NEWS

Indian food delivery firm Swiggy on May 9 reported a net loss of 10.81 billion rupees ($126.6 million) for the quarter ending March 31, almost doubling from a year earlier. Revenue grew to 45.3 billion rupees, up 44%.

In its shareholders' letter released on the same day, Swiggy said the quarter represented the peak of investments in quick-commerce. The company added it expects to progressively unwind losses, and the pace will be determined based on average order values, take-rates, and "the nature and quantum of competitive intensity".

(Editing by Una Galani and Aditya Srivastav)

((For previous columns by the author, Reuters customers can click on DUTTA/[email protected]))

May 9 (Reuters) - India's Swiggy SWIG.NS reported a wider quarterly loss on Friday, as the online platform spent heavily to beef up its quick commerce delivery business to compete with rival Eternal's ETEA.NS Blinkit and startup Zepto.

The food and grocery delivery company reported consolidated loss of 10.81 billion rupees ($126.64 million) for the fourth quarter ended March 31, compared to 5.55 billion rupees loss, a year earlier.

($1 = 85.3590 Indian rupees)

(Reporting by Praveen Paramasivam in Chennai and Ananta Agarwal in Bengaluru)

(([email protected]; +91 867-525-3569;))

May 6 (Reuters) - Swiggy Ltd SWIG.NS:

• KOUZINA ACQUIRES EXCLUSIVE LICENSE TO SCALE SWIGGY'S FOOD BRANDS

• TO TRANSFER OWNERSHIP OF BRANDS TO KOUZINA

Source text: ID:nBSE61Xrs8

Further company coverage: SWIG.NS

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April 15 (Reuters) - Nureca Ltd NURE.NS:

• PRODUCTS UNDER BRANDS DR TRUST AND DR PHYSIO WILL SOON BE AVAILABLE ON SWIGGY INSTAMART

Further company coverage: NURE.NSSWIG.NS

(([email protected];))

By Praveen Paramasivam

April 4 (Reuters) - India's commerce minister said his country's startups needed to emulate China by focusing on high-end tech and not quick grocery deliveries or fancy ice cream - harsh criticism that had entrepreneurs quickly pointing out the government's shortcomings.

Piyush Goyal told a startup event in New Delhi late on Thursday that too many were offering food delivery so that "the rich can get their meals without moving out of their house" and were "turning unemployed youth into cheap labour."

"Are we going to be happy being delivery boys and girls? (Making) fancy ice cream and cookies ... is that the destiny of India?" he said, showing a slide titled "India vs. China. The Startup Reality Check".

He didn't name companies but his speech was seen as an apparent attack on quick commerce businesses like Zomato ZOMT.NS, Swiggy and Zepto that deliver food and groceries in as little as 10 minutes.

"What do the Chinese startups do? Work on developing electric mobility, battery technology ... look at what the other side is doing - robotics, automation, machine learning, preparing themselves for 3D manufacturing," Goyal said.

His comments prompted hundreds of posts on social media from startup founders and venture capitalists, taking the government to the task for failing to create high-quality infrastructure and jobs and not doing enough to support entrepreneurs.

"The government (needs) to actively support the creation of these local champions, not pull down the teams," Zepto co-founder Aadit Palicha retorted on X.

Swiggy and Zomato did not respond to requests for comment.

"Minister @PiyushGoyal should not belittle our startups but ask himself what has he done as our Minister to help deep tech start ups grow in India?," Mohandas Pai, chairman at venture fund Aarin Capital, wrote on X.

Indian startups raised $11.3 billion in venture capital funding in 2024, up 43% from last year.

(Reporting by Praveen Paramasivam in Chennai; Editing by Aditya Kalra and Edwina Gibbs)

(([email protected]; +91 867-525-3569;))

Swiggy Ltd SWIG.NS:

• SWIGGY LTD - RECEIVES TAX ASSESSMENT ORDER ADDING 1.58 BILLION RUPEES

• SWIGGY LTD - TO APPEAL AGAINST TAX ASSESSMENT ORDER

• SWIGGY LTD - TAX ORDER HAS NO MAJOR ADVERSE IMPACT ON FINANCIALS

Source text: ID:nBSE8dBnNl

Further company coverage: SWIG.NS

Corrects to say e-grocery, not e-retail, in headline and paragraph 1

March 27 (Reuters) - India's quick commerce sector accounted for over two-thirds of all e-grocery orders last year, with its total market share growing about five times to $6-7 billion from 2022, a report by consultancy firm Bain and e-commerce giant Flipkart showed.

The industry, which is dominated by the likes of Zomato-owned ZOMT.NS Blinkit, also accounted for a tenth of overall e-retail dollars spent in 2024, according to the report released on Wednesday.

These platforms deliver groceries to electronics within minutes, and its market share is expected to grow over 40% annually till 2030, driven by expansion across new categories, geographies and consumer segments, according to the report.

"The dramatic rise of quick commerce (i.e., delivery in less than 30 minutes) has been one of the most defining hallmarks of India's e-retail market over the last two years," according to the report, which stated that the sector had over 20 million annual online shoppers and employed over 400,000 people.

However, these platforms could face some immediate challenges in expanding profitability, as they may struggle to grow into markets beyond large cities and also face stiff competition from larger e-commerce players including Flipkart.

To sustain profitable growth, "companies must adapt their business models for markets beyond major metros, manage rising competition, and optimize supply chains", it said.

The report comes at a time when players such as Flipkart Minutes, Myntra's M-now, BigBasket's BB Now, and Amazon's Tez have forayed into the sector with their respective quick commerce platforms.

However, some industry experts expect this boom to be short lived.

Last month, a Blume Ventures' report said that the sector may struggle to maintain its current pace of growth.

TVS Capital Funds Chairman Gopal Srinivasan told Reuters in an interview that the quick-commerce frenzy is a "passing fad" and unsustainable in the long run.

(Reporting by Ashwin Manikandan; Editing by Rashmi Aich)

(([email protected];))

** Eternal (earlier Zomato) ZOMT.NS falls 2.6%; Swiggy SWIG.NS down 1.5% after BofA rating cuts on the food delivery and quick commerce (QC) platforms

** BofA cuts ZOMT to "neutral" from "buy" and double-downgrades SWIG to "underperform" from "buy"

** BofA sees bigger QC losses in next 12-15 months due to higher discounts as competition rises; also expects pace of margin expansion to slow

** Says India's QC story narrative has quickly moved from "higher growth, improving unit economics" to "rising losses, highly competitive"

** ZOMT, SWIG shares down 26.5% and 38% in 2025 so far; benchmark Nifty 50 .NSEI up 0.15%

** ZOMT to be included in Nifty 50 effective market close on March 27

(Reporting by Bharath Rajeswaran in Bengaluru)

(([email protected]; +91 9769003463;))