SWIGGY

May 9 (Reuters) - Swiggy Ltd SWIG.NS:

• SWIGGY - INSTAMART EXPECTED TO PROGRESSIVELY UNWIND LOSSES

• SWIGGY - EXPECT TO REACH CONTRIBUTION BREAK-EVEN IN 3-5 QUARTERS FROM NOW FOR QUICK-COMMERCE

• SWIGGY - WITNESSED EARLY CONSUMER TRACTION IN SNACC

Source text: [ID:]

Further company coverage: SWIG.NS

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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

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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;))

March 17 (Reuters) - Swiggy Ltd SWIG.NS:

• SWIGGY LTD - INSTAMART EXPANDS TO 100 CITIES ACROSS INDIA

• SWIGGY LTD - INSTAMART INTRODUCES QUICK COMMERCE TO 32 NEW CITIES IN 2025

Source text: ID:nBSE3V78dg

Further company coverage: SWIG.NS

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By Praveen Paramasivam

CHENNAI, March 14 (Reuters) - India's southern state of Tamil Nadu will offer a subsidy of 20,000 rupees ($230) to select gig workers to buy e-scooters, a minister said on Friday, as more young people sign up with online platforms to deliver food and groceries.

Gig workers, or those outside traditional employer-employee relationships, are set to play a key role in the world's fifth-biggest economy, spurred partly by high unemployment after COVID-19 pandemic curbs fuelled growth in the sector.

Tamil Nadu is also introducing an insurance scheme for nearly 150,000 gig workers to compensate for accidental deaths and disability, its finance minister, Thangam Thenarasu, said while unveiling the budget.

"A new scheme will be launched .... to provide a subsidy of 20,000 rupees each to 2,000 internet-based service workers to buy a new e-scooter," the minister said, adding that workers registered with a state welfare body would be eligible.

Further details of the scheme will be revealed later, Labour Secretary Veera Raghava Rao told Reuters.

The prices of electric scooter maker Ola's products start at 79,999 rupees, while those of rival Ather sell from 99,999 rupees.

The state will also set up lounges for the use of such workers in large cities, such as Chennai, its capital - where summer temperatures often exceed 40 degrees Celsius (104 degrees F) - and Coimbatore, a textile hub.

The head of the Tamil Nadu Food and Allied Products Delivery Workers Union, K.C. Gopikumar, welcomed the subsidy and welfare efforts but urged the government to extend them to more workers as well as give them better conditions, such as paid leave.

Swiggy and Zomato, two of India's biggest delivery providers, did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

($1=86.9080 Indian rupees)

(Reporting by Praveen Paramasivam in Chennai; Editing by Clarence Fernandez)

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

** Jefferies initiates Swiggy SWIG.NS with "hold" rating, PT of 400 rupees

** Food and grocery delivery platform's market share of 45% in food delivery to grow in high-teens in medium term with margin expansion, says Jefferies

** Says quick commerce offers "tremendous growth opportunity" although faces high competition and thus SWIG's profitability will remain under pressure

** Jefferies expects SWIG to remain in losses over FY25-27, competition from new entrants Flipkart and Amazon AMZN.O to result in loss trend persisting

** Stock down 0.8% at 350.20 rupees, set for fourth straight losing session

** Avg rating on SWIG, rival Zomato ZOMT.NS at "buy" - data compiled by LSEG

** SWIG down 35% so far this year vs ZOMT's 26% decline

(Reporting by Kashish Tandon in Bengaluru)

(([email protected]))

** India's Zomato ZOMT.NS and Swiggy SWIG.NS drop 0.7% and 0.4%, respectively

** Indian consumer products distributors have filed an antitrust case gainst fast-delivery firms ZOMT, SWIG and Zepto, calling for an investigation into alleged deep discounting practices, Reuters reports

** ZOMT set for third straight session of decline, while SWIG set to snap three-session gaining streak

** Avg rating on ZOMT and SWIG at "buy" - data compiled by LSEG

** ZOMT down 19.5% YTD vs SWIG's 33% decline

(Reporting by Kashish Tandon in Bengaluru)

(([email protected]))

By Aditya Kalra

NEW DELHI, March 6 (Reuters) - Indian consumer products distributors have filed an antitrust case against big fast-delivery businesses of Zomato, Swiggy and Zepto, calling for an investigation into alleged deep discounting practices, legal papers show.

India's e-commerce sector has faced intense scrutiny over how products are priced online. An antitrust investigation last year found Amazon and Walmart's Flipkart favour select sellers and resorted to "predatory pricing", which hurts smaller retailers. The companies have denied the allegations.

Quick commerce, in which companies deliver consumer products within 10 minutes from neighbourhood warehouses, is popular with customers but has upset smaller retailers as shoppers use apps to order everything from milk to pulses. Bernstein estimates India's quick commerce sector will reach $35 billion in 2030, from $200 million in 2021.

The All India Consumer Products Distributors Federation (AICPDF), in a case filing with the Competition Commission of India, has asked for an investigation into many business practices of Zomato's ZOMT.NS Blinkit, Swiggy's SWIG.NS instamart, and Zepto, including how discounts are doled out.

"An alarming trend of predatory pricing and deep discounting practices by Q-commerce platforms resulted in unfair pricing models," said the group's filing, which is not public but was reviewed by Reuters.

Zomato and Swiggy did not respond to Reuters' requests for comment. Zepto declined comment. The CCI did not respond.

The filing could increase headaches for Zomato and Swiggy. A separate CCI investigation last year found their food delivery businesses breached competition laws. The case is ongoing.

Zepto is preparing for an IPO after raising funds at a valuation of $5 billion last year.

The watchdog will review the case filing and can order its investigation unit to look at the matter closely. This can take several months and may require companies to explain their businesses. It can dismiss the case if it finds no merit in it.

AICPDF has 400,000 distributors as members, who supply products of brands such as Nestle NEST.NS, Unilever ULVR.L and Tata to 13 million retail shops across India.

A recent Datum Intelligence survey of 3,000 Indian quick commerce shoppers showed 36% had reduced shopping at supermarkets and 46% cut back purchases from small independent stores.

In its filing, AICPDF said local brick-and-mortar stores "cannot match" the quick commerce giants' discounts. It compared online and offline pricing of 25 products, including of Nestle and Hindustan Unilever HLL.NS.

A variant of a Nescafe coffee jar which a small independent Indian retailer receives from companies for about 622 rupees ($7.14) is offered for 514 rupees on Zepto, 577 rupees on Swiggy Instamart and 625 rupees on Blinkit, according to the filing.

Asia's richest man, Mukesh Ambani, is mimicking the strategy to offer fast deliveries, as are Amazon and Flipkart in limited areas.

Datum estimates Blinkit has a 40% market share in India's quick commerce market, with 1,007 small warehouses, while Zepto has more than 900 stores and a 29% market share. Swiggy's Instamart service holds a 26% share.

(Reporting by Aditya Kalra, Editing by Timothy Heritage)

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

By Praveen Paramasivam and Juveria Tabassum

Feb 28 (Reuters) - India's BigBasket is planning to go public in the next 18 to 24 months, its CEO said, as the Tata Group-backed grocery giant seeks to tap surging demand for quick online deliveries of everything from fruits to Apple iPhones.

The company is on track to double its business year-on-year by March 2026 and expand to about 70 Indian cities from 35 currently over the next year, CEO Hari Menon told Reuters on the sidelines of a retail summit in Mumbai. He stopped short of detailing any investment plans.

BigBasket's plans for its listing in India come as the domestic quick commerce industry sees high double-digit sales growth, with rivals such as Swiggy's Instamart and Zomato's Blinkit racing to make the most of red-hot demand for 10-minute deliveries in urban metros.

Zomato ZOMT.NS and recently listed Swiggy SWIG.NS are also increasing their investments to ramp up offerings, open more warehouses and win market share, as the quick commerce industry defies a broader economic slowdown in the country.

"Assortment is the play, in my view," said Menon, whose firm is also expanding its range of products to include electronics, pharmaceuticals and fashion categories.

Quick commerce makes up about 80% of BigBasket's revenue, he said.

The grocery delivery firm, in which Tata Sons [RIC:RIC:TATAS.UL] has a majority stake, is also set to roll out quick food deliveries, Menon said without laying out a timeline, a move that will pit the company against other 10-minute food services such as Zomato's "Bistro", Swiggy's "Bolt" and Zepto's "Zepto Cafe".

(Reporting by Praveen Paramasivam and Juveria Tabassum in Mumbai, Writing by Ananta Agarwal; Editing by Devika Syamnath)

(([email protected];))

Feb 25 (Reuters) - India's booming quick-commerce sector may struggle to maintain its current pace of growth as expansion beyond major cities remains limited and competition from larger e-commerce players intensifies, according to a report by Blume Ventures.

These companies deliver groceries to electronics within minutes and their market share has grown to $7.1 billion in fiscal year 2025 from just $300 million in 2022, the venture capital firm's Indus Valley 2025 report said.

India's "fastest growing industry segment ever", dominated by the likes of Zomato ZOMT.NS-owned Blinkit, Zepto and Swiggy SWIG.NS Instamart, logged a 24-fold increase in gross order value (GOV) in the same period, it said.

However, the segment will soon see its monthly transacting user (MTU) growth tapering, much like the country's ride-share, food delivery and e-commerce sectors before, the report warned.

Moreover, the quick-commerce firms face stiff competition from large e-commerce platforms such as Walmart's WMT.N Flipkart, Amazon AMZN.O and Reliance RELI.NS, who are preparing to launch their own quick-commerce operations.

"… while it is not guaranteed they will be able to counter quick-commerce players, the increased competition will have some impact on the industry profit pool," the report said.

Additionally, the expanding sector will likely start to affect the local grocery ecosystem and attract regulatory measures to check its growth, the report said.

Earlier this month, TVS Capital Funds Chairman Gopal Srinivasan in an interview to Reuters said that India's quick-commerce frenzy is a "passing fad" and unsustainable in the long run.

Blume Ventures was one of the earliest backers of crisis-laden quick-commerce firm Dunzo, which is reportedly on the brink of shutdown after a spate of layoffs, founder exits and unpaid vendor dues.

(Reporting by Ashwin Manikandan; Editing by Sumana Nandy)

(([email protected];))

Feb 21 (Reuters) - Indian food and grocery delivery firm Swiggy SWIG.NS said on Friday it will invest up to 10 billion rupees ($115.47 million) in Scootsy, a subsidiary engaged in supply chain services and distribution.

($1 = 86.6020 Indian rupees)

(Reporting by Ananta Agarwal in Bengaluru; Editing by Shinjini Ganguli)

(([email protected];))

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

By Shritama Bose

MUMBAI, Feb 19 (Reuters Breakingviews) - India’s dealmakers are celebrating their arrival on the global map. Last year, Kotak Mahindra Bank KTKM.NS not only topped LSEG's league table for initial public offerings in Asia by volume, edging out CITIC 0267.HK and JPMorgan JPM.N, but it also broke into the ranks of the top 10 underwriters of common stock deals globally by proceeds. Both are firsts for an Indian investment bank. But the strong showing by the $45 billion firm and its compatriots may prove hard to sustain.

A record $71 billion in equity fundraising powered the South Asian country's climb past China and Hong Kong to the spot of the world’s second-largest destination for share placements behind the U.S. last year, per Dealogic data. New-economy companies including Swiggy SWIG.NS and Ola Electric Mobility OLAE.NS going public were a lynchpin for strong fees. Meanwhile, punchy valuations prompted global businesses like Whirlpool WHR.N to cash out stakes in their local units and Hyundai Motor 005380.KS to take its Indian business public.

It spelt a bonanza for banks like Kotak and ICICI Bank ICBK.NS, both of which trade at 3 times forward book value, the top of their peer group. Their rise up the league tables buys them credibility beyond those rich valuations.

The mood is upbeat. At a Mumbai conference of investment banks in January, a singer belted out chest-thumping patriotic numbers in the presence of Madhabi Puri Buch, chief of Securities and Exchange Board of India, the capital markets regulator. Sundararaman Ramamurthy, the CEO of BSE BSEL.NS, one of the country’s two main stock exchanges, described the IPO boom as a moment of India’s “re-emergence” on the world stage.

The pipeline remains strong. Kotak has won a mandate, alongside Morgan Stanley MS.N, for what could be India's largest ever IPO, an up to $4.6 billion listing of Reliance Industries' RELI.NS telecommunications business, IFR reported in January, citing unnamed people. HDFC Bank’s HDBK.NS shadow lending unit has filed for a $1.44 billion float. Businesses ranging from the local unit of South Korean consumer appliances giant LG Electronics 066570.KS to Tiger Global-backed stockbroker Groww are preparing for billion-dollar listings too, per IFR. Kotak expects primary fundraising in India to rise 59% from last year’s level to $35 billion in 2025.

But the broader environment is less cheery. Foreign portfolio investors are dumping Indian shares and companies are reporting dismal earnings, pulling indexes off last year’s dizzying highs. The outlook for GDP growth is sombre. Beijing's push for higher-valued startups could rejuvenate dealmaking in China this year, and Hong Kong listings are rebounding from a 20-year low. The two centres notched up a total $132 billion in equity transactions in 2023 before markets slumped.

Kotak and its peers may find their dealmaking crown was easier to earn than to hold.

Follow @ShritamaBose on X

CONTEXT NEWS

Kotak Mahindra Bank was the 10th largest bookrunner globally for common stock deals by proceeds in 2024, with a 1.5% share of the market, according to LSEG data. It also topped the league table for Asian initial public offerings, including Chinese A-shares, facilitating listings that raised $2 billion during the year.

(Editing by Antony Currie and Aditya Srivastav)

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

By Sai Ishwarbharath B and Haripriya Suresh

MUMBAI, Feb 13 (Reuters) - India's quick-commerce frenzy, which has boosted the fortunes of delivery firms such as Zomato ZOMT.NS and SoftBank-backed Swiggy SWIG.NS, is not sustainable in the long run, a top Indian private equity fund's chief said.

"These are passing fads and fantasies," TVS Capital Funds Chairman Gopal Srinivasan, who manages assets worth about 50 billion rupees ($575 million), said in an interview.

"The question is whether this micro trend, which (is) running completely on PE or VC funding only without the multi-decadal (economic viability) aspect, will sustain or not."

India's quick-commerce industry, which promises deliveries within 10 minutes, was estimated to cross $6 billion in annual sales in 2024 from $100 million in 2020, according to Datum Intelligence.

Following in the footsteps of Swiggy's Instamart and Zomato's Blinkit, global retail giants Walmart WMT.N-backed Flipkart and Amazon AMZN.O as well as Reliance Industries RELI.NS have started delivering goods from groceries to electronics instantly in the South Asian country.

Marquee funds such as Prosus PRX.AS, Tencent Holdings 0700.HK, Nexus Venture Partners and Info Edge INED.NS are among the top shareholders in Zomato, Swiggy and peer Zepto, which own the biggest chunk of the quick commerce space.

Those parking money in the sector are buying "over-valued" assets and hoping to sell them at a higher price, following the "greater fool theory" investment strategy, TVS Capital's Srinivasan said.

TVS Capital has backed around 30 businesses since 2007 and its portfolio is dominated by financial services firms such as Vivriti Capital and Five Star Business Finance.

Its investments include Walmart-backed fintech firm PhonePe and insurance tech firm Digit Insurance DODG.NS. TVS Capital had invested in beauty e-commerce firm Nykaa, which it exited in 2018.

"We looked at Swiggy, Zomato. We didn't know enough, so we walked away," Srinivasan said.

"Nykaa was clearly a deeper trend, because the way we looked at it is women coming into the workforce in massive quantities... and fundamentally, the fact that they will have to appear as professional as they can," he said.

($1 = 86.8570 Indian rupees)

(Reporting by Sai Ishwarbharath B and Haripriya Suresh; Editing by Dhanya Skariachan and Mrigank Dhaniwala)

(([email protected];))

By Anton Bridge

TOKYO, Feb 10 (Reuters) - Japan's SoftBank Group 9984.T is set to make a quarterly net profit of 234 billion yen ($1.54 billion) on Wednesday as shares in its telecommunications holdings edge up and the post-listing performance of Swiggy SWIG.NS is seen boosting the value of its portfolio of unlisted technology startups.

Analysts are divided, however, on whether the spate of artificial intelligence-related investments SoftBank has announced in recent weeks will help or hurt the Japanese technology investment conglomerate's bottom line.

The profit of 234 billion yen is based on the average of four analyst estimates compiled by LSEG, and compares with a gain of 950 billion yen in the same period last year.

SoftBank is expected to bank further investment gains on U.S. telecommunications subsidiary of Deutsche Telekom DTEGn.DE T-Mobile US TMUS.O, whose shares hit an all time high in late November and rose 7% over the quarter.

Also in November, Indian delivery firm Swiggy jumped 17% on its market debut and had risen almost 20% by the end of December.

This may signal a recovery in IPO markets, particularly in India, and so trigger a bump in the valuations of SoftBank's several-hundred strong portfolio of unlisted tech firms, analysts say.

More uncertain is the future impact of the major artificial intelligence investments announced over the past two months.

SoftBank CEO Masayoshi Son's pledge in December to invest $100 billion in AI projects in the U.S. over four years could entail selling or monetising portfolio assets or taking on excessive debt, Jefferies analyst Atul Goyal wrote in a note.

Alongside, last week Son announced a new joint venture with ChatGPT maker OpenAI to offer AI services in Japan for corporate customers and roll out OpenAI products across SoftBank's portfolio companies.

While some analysts say this may bring efficiency gains at portfolio companies, others say the $3 billion annual usage fee paid to OpenAI could diminish near-term earnings.

($1 = 152.2600 yen)

(Reporting by Anton Bridge
Editing by Tomasz Janowski)

(([email protected];))

Adds details paragraph 2 onwards

Feb 6 (Reuters) - Indian food and grocery delivery platform Zomato ZOMT.NS said on Thursday it will rename the company to "Eternal" and unveiled a new logo, a move that comes more than two years after it began using the new name internally.

Eternal would comprise its four major businesses - food delivery vertical Zomato, quick-commerce unit Blinkit, live events business District and kitchen supplies unit Hyperpure, the company said.

"We thought of publicly renaming the company when something beyond Zomato became a significant driver of our future," Founder Deepinder Goyal said in a letter to shareholders.

"Today, with Blinkit, I feel we are here," Goyal said.

The move marks a shift for the company, from when investors were skeptical about Zomato's acquisition of Blinkit in mid-2022, to quick commerce-led growth drawing increasing investor interest.

Blinkit as well as early bird Swiggy's SWIG.NS Instamart have driven a shift in the way Indians shop, and forced retailers such as Reliance Industries' RELI.NS JioMart as well as Amazon AMZN.O and Walmart's WMT.N Indian business to launch their own quick-commerce services.

(Reporting by Kashish Tandon in Bengaluru; Editing by Savio D'Souza and Mrigank Dhaniwala)

(([email protected]; 8800437922;))

** Swiggy SWIG.NS falls ~2% ahead of Q3 results later in the day

** This will be food and grocery delivery firm's first quarterly report since going public in November 2024

** Analysts expect consol loss of 6.17 bln rupees ($70.8 mln), per data compiled by LSEG

** Co's Q2 consol loss was 6.26 bln rupees

** ICICI Securities sees 20% y/y rise in SWIG's food delivery gross order value (GOV)

** Expects quick-commerce (QC) segment GOV to grow 108.9% y/y

** Anand Rathi Research says QC segment's EBITDA margins will contract 80-100 bps q/q on heightened competition, rival Zepto's relentless cash burn

** Last month, SWIG dropped below IPO price (390 rupees) for the first time

** Rival Zomato ZOMT.NS's Q3 profit more-than-halved on rising competition in QC, increased expenses

($1 = 87.1200 Indian rupees)

(Reporting by Manvi Pant in Bengaluru)

(([email protected]; +918447554364;))

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

By Shritama Bose

MUMBAI, Feb 3 (Reuters Breakingviews) - India is retreating from a long-term goal to improve its finances. Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s administration on Saturday proposed cuts to levies on personal income to shore up consumption which is growing at its slowest pace in four years. But the move drastically shrinks the taxpayer base and can go only so far in meeting its target.

New Delhi is giving up nearly $12 billion of revenue, or about 3% of its receipts for the year ending in March 2025 by raising the exemption threshold for taxpayers by 83% to 1.28 million rupees ($14,800) per year and reducing rates for people earning up to nearly twice that amount.

That offers relief to a swathe of the middle class whose wages are stagnating; it will halve the share of working-age Indians paying income tax to 1%, per Breakingviews calculations based on data from the government and the International Labour Organization. No wonder shares of carmaker Maruti Suzuki MRTI.NS and food delivery firms Zomato ZOMT.NS and Swiggy SWIG.NS jumped 6% or more during the weekend special trading session.

But it takes India a step back on its journey to widening its tax base. The country’s income-tax to GDP ratio climbed to 6.6%, a 24-year high in the year ended March 2024 on the back of improved collection efficiencies. The U.S. ratio is in double digits, per World Bank data.

India could boost the spending power of a wider group of people and ease inflation if it slashes levies on fuel or cooking gas, but getting the country's 28 provinces to agree to lower revenue from fuel makes that a taller task.

For now, the government is relying on the Reserve Bank of India. Policymakers are pencilling in a higher dividend from the central bank to make up part of its revenue shortfall. They will also expect the RBI to deliver a rate cut to push discretionary spending, although the global trade war unleashed by Washington will make trimming borrowing costs harder.

The core issue of weak incomes is harder to solve. Real average monthly earnings of salaried and self-employed workers in the year ended March 2024 fell below the levels they were at six years ago, with the female self-employed cohort seeing the steepest drop of 32%, per the government's economic survey.

Modi's tax cuts will leave more money in people's pockets, but it's a short-term fix.

CONTEXT NEWS

India will propose cutting personal income tax rates to boost the spending power of the middle-class, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said on Feb. 1, as she announced the government's annual budget for the financial year to March 2026.

People earning up to 1.28 million rupees ($14,800) a year will not have to pay any taxes, raising the exemption threshold from $8,074. The top tax rate of 30% will apply to annual income above 2.4 million rupees against the current level of 1.5 million rupees. The measures would forego around $11.8 billion in tax revenue, Sitharaman said.

(Editing by Una Galani and Aditya Srivastav)

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

Updates

** Swiggy SWIG.NS drops as much as 5.1% to 389.05 rupees, below mid-Nov IPO price of 390 rupees

** Food and grocery delivery platform's stock set for third straight day of losses

** SWIG sheds ~35% from its record high touched in mid-December

** Rival Zomato ZOMT.NS down ~31% in same period

** Analysts have flagged fierce competition for both SWIG and ZOMT in the quick commerce space from startup Zepto as well as deep-pocketed rivals such as Walmart-backed WMT.N Flipkart and Tata Group's BigBasket

** Analysts avg rating on SWIG and ZOMT is "buy"; median PT at 550 rupees - data compiled by LSEG

(Reporting by Kashish Tandon in Bengaluru)

(([email protected]))

** Zomato ZOMT.NS and Swiggy SWIG.NS shares rise 0.8% and 0.5%, respectively

** Bernstein maintains "outperform" on ZOMT and SWIG, keeps PT of 315 rupees and 635 rupees each, 29% and 30% over last close

** Brokerage expects cos' strong performance across food delivery, quick commerce to drive growth in CY25; QC is its preferred sector as gains share against e-commerce and retail

** However, ZOMT's rev to grow ~50% Y/Y in FY26 vs SWIG's 40% - Bernstein

** Expects ZOMT to see further profitability in food delivery and rev growth due to QC; ZOMT has been profitable since Q1FY24

** SWIG has 30% share in QC segment vs ZOMT's 46%

** Anticipates QC expansion in CY25 beyond groceries and in tier-2 cities for both cos

** SWIG well-positioned in QC (behind ZOMT) and will continue to benefit from multiple growth drivers - Bernstein

** SWIG, which listed mid-Nov, has gained ~16% since IPO, ZOMT shed 4% in same period

(Reporting by Ashna Teresa Britto in Bengaluru)

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Jan 15 (Reuters) - Swiggy Ltd SWIG.NS:

• MINISTRY APPROVES INCORPORATION OF SWIGGY SPORTS PRIVATE LIMITED

• SWIGGY SPORTS TO ENGAGE IN SPORTS TEAM OWNERSHIP AND MANAGEMENT

Source text: ID:nBSEbbjGG9

Further company coverage: SWIG.NS

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** Shares of Swiggy Ltd SWIG.NS climb 2.2% to 501.15 rupees

** Bernstein begins coverage of food delivery firm with "outperform" rating and PT of 635 rupees, per CNBC-TV18 report

** SWIG would be a key benefactor of rising shift to faster delivery services, report quotes brokerage as saying

** Innovative product launches should help SWIG regain some market share it lost to leader Zomato ZOMT.NS and stay steady at 42% - Bernstein, per report

** Adds, current valuations "reasonable"; stock has scope for re-rating

** Bernstein sees SWIG's EBITDA margins expanding from 1.2% in its most recent results to 30% by FY30, in line with rival ZOMT's trajectory - report

** Ten analysts tracking stock, including Bernstein, rate it "buy" on avg, same as rival Zomato ZOMT.NS

** Stock up ~29% from its IPO issue price, but down ~19% from the record high it hit last month

(Reporting by Nandan Mandayam in Bengaluru)

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Updates

** Food and grocery delivery firm Swiggy SWIG.NS rises 2.7% to 593 rupees

** JP Morgan starts with "overweight", sets PT at 730 rupees

** Has "overweight" on rival Zomato ZOMT.NS since listing

** Sees SWIG catching up across food delivery and quick-commerce segments given the renewed focus and improved execution

** Expects SWIG's food delivery platform to hold share and expand profits sharply through recovery in platform fees and monetization

** Sees co hitting critical scale across both core businesses, enabling faster-than-peer expansion in profitability over FY25-28

** Expects SWIG to emerge an under-appreciated winner in India's local services ecosystem

** Last week, CLSA started with "outperform", PT of 536.85 rupees

** Stock rises despite broader market weakness

** SWIG gains 38% since trading debut in mid November; ZOMT up 10% in the same period

(Reporting by Ashna Teresa Britto in Bengaluru)

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NEW DELHI, Dec 16 (Reuters) - India's GST Council, chaired by the federal finance minister, may lower the tax on food delivery charges by e-commerce operators to 5% from 18%, CNBC-TV18 reported, citing sources.

The potential tax cut, which could take effect from Jan. 1, 2022, would not allow food delivery platforms such as Zomato and Swiggy to claim tax credits. This comes as India's tax department ordered Zomato to pay 8.04 billion rupees in taxes and fines for non-payment of certain taxes from 2019 to 2022.

(Reporting by Nikunj Ohri; EDiting by Tasim Zahid)

(([email protected]; +91 90284 60730; Reuters Messaging: twitter.com/nikunj_ohri))

** Shares of VIP Clothing VIPC.NS rise 4.6% to 52 rupees, their highest since Jan 12

** The manufacturer of innerwear partners with Swiggy Instamart SWIG.NS to offer 10-minute delivery of its men's innerwear brand

** Stock on track for a fourth straight day of gains, if trend holds

** VIPC sees busiest day in over 5 months, with over 4.4 mln shares traded

** Stock up 12.6% YTD

(Reporting by Aleef Jahan in Bengaluru)

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** Shares of Swiggy SWIG.NS climb 3.2% to 554 rupees

** CLSA initiated coverage on food and grocery delivery firm with "outperform" rating and PT of 536.85 rupees

** Brokerage says SWIG has large headroom for growth in both food delivery and quick commerce segments where it competes with larger rival Zomato ZOMT.NS

** Adds, "catching ZOMT not necessary for SWIG to be a successful investment case" as market is very big for a single player and there is enough opportunity for SWIG's growth

** SWIG gains ~21% since trading debut on Nov 13; ZOMT up ~15% in same period

(Reporting by Kashish Tandon in Bengaluru)

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** Shares of Zomato ZOMT.NS rise 4.5%, while Swiggy SWIG.NS gains 6.5%

** Shares climb after Bernstein reiterates "outperform" on Zomato, terming the online food delivery platform as its top pick in Indian internet companies coverage

** While Bernstein has not initiated coverage on SWIG yet, it says that both ZOMT and SWIG should see growth at high teens for fiscal year 2025

** Bernstein says India's online food delivery market is a duopoly with a 57.6% market share for ZOMT and 42% for SWIG

** While the outlook for both the companies remain positive, ZOMT's higher profitability in food delivery makes it the top bet in the sector, Bernstein says

** Bernstein expects ZOMT to gain 20% in the next 12 months

** ZOMT shares up 142% in 2024 so far, 4x that of the 36% rise in Nifty Next 50 index .NN50 of which it is a constituent - LSEG data

(Reporting by Bharath Rajeswaran in Bengaluru)

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