Flipkart Looking Into Shifting Base Back To India Ahead Of IPO: Report

The report cited sources in the know and said that the $33 billion-worth firm is planning to reach profitability as it aims to hit a valuation of $60 billion for its initial public offering (IPO)

E-commerce firm, Flipkart, is reportedly looking into moving its domicile back to India, media reports said. The Walmart-owned firm is a holding firm based in Singapore. 

If executed, this could translate into a major tax gain for the Indian government, reported The Economic Times. The report cited sources in the know and said that the $33 billion-worth firm is planning to reach profitability as it aims to hit a valuation of $60 billion for its initial public offering (IPO). 

The IPO is now set for 2025-26, instead of this year, the report noted citing sources. The e-commerce entity could list in India and other regions, like the US as well. This shifting of domicile is related to the IPO plans, the report said.

Notably, the firm had to postpone its IPO plans in 2022-23 owing to financial considerations and uncertainty in the global economy. The report cited analysts and stated that the e-tailing sector in India is expected to witness five-fold growth and jump from $59 billion in 2022 to nearly $300 billion by the end of the decade.

This growth is anticipated to be enhanced by the value-seeking ‘mass’ consumers, that are increasingly adapting e-commerce in Tier-II regions and beyond. 

The e-commerce platform already clocked a record 1.4 billion customers during its flagship sales event titled, ‘The Big Billion Days’ 2023 (TBBD). 

Notably, several Indian start-ups have been looking into shifting their base back to India. These include companies across sectors such as fintech, healthcare, edtech, stock broking, and e-commerce.

Early last year in March, the Indian government said that multiple Indian start-ups were based abroad and established a committee to recommend ways to ‘onshore the Indian innovation’ to the Gujarat International Finance Tec-City, reported Business Standard.

Recently, fintech start-up Groww officially moved its base back to India from the US. PhonePe, another major start-up, also transferred its domicile back to India from Singapore in October 2022.