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Can a Tata vs Ambani 'super-app' battle make them India's Alibaba-Tencent? The 152-year-old Tata Group is talking to Walmart Inc. for a $25 billion investment in a "super-app," a multipurpose online platform
Just as the Chinese duo of Jack Ma and Pony Ma have carved up major chunks of their country’s internet businesses, the battle for control of 1.3 billion Indians’ data could become a two-horse race. The contest would get under way if, as reported by Bloomberg News, Tata Sons Pvt. brings in financial or strategic investors. The holding company of the $113 billion coffee-to-cars conglomerate may be taking a leaf from the playbook of Mukesh Ambani, who has raised $20 billion this year from the likes of Facebook Inc., Alphabet Inc., Silver Lake Partners and others for his digital
assets. Ambani, India’s richest tycoon, is now parceling out stakes in his retail venture, and may have sought out Amazon.com Inc. The 152-year-old Tata Group is talking to Walmart Inc. for a $25 billion investment in a “super-app,” a multipurpose online platform combining fashion, lifestyle and electronics retail, food and grocery, insurance and financial services, as well as digital content and education, the Mint newspaper reported. The advantage is with the 63-year-old Ambani, with roughly 400 million regular subscribers for his 4G telecommunications network. He also has India’s largest retail chain. The kind of super-app that has succeeded in China and Southeast Asia requires a reason for customers to visit it regularly. Commerce is incidental. Jack Ma’s Alibaba Group Holding Ltd. has its popular Alipay wallet. Pony Ma’s Tencent Holdings Ltd. has WeChat, a messaging service, and WeChat Pay. In Southeast Asia, Grab built a steady user base as a ride-hailing platform before branching into financial services.