Who 'Flip'ped the 'Kart' ??

India is currently witnessing a golden period when it comes to Ecommerce websites. These sites are like emergence of a wada pav wala during monsoon, one every block. No matter which website you visit, educational or sports oriented, our very own ecommerce sites are there to welcome you. Yebhi, Wohbhi, MyKart, Yourkart etc. Everyone is searching for a stable business model but to no avail and please dont talk about discounts !! Discounts are being offered with the same magnitude and frequency as that of rebirths of Ekta Kapoor serial heroes !!

Till now there was some hope and that was the poster boy of this Dotcom boom i.e. *drumroll* Flipkart !!

But now even Flipkart might be in trouble. By the looks of it, Flipkart looks a solid foundation with considerable profits & sizeable market share but infact its a company in dire need of funds and is working on negative cash flows.Flipkart has already gobbled up $181 million from two separate Venture capitalist funding and the hunger still prevails.

Accel Partners & Tiger Global are very much in the mix with 48% holding after their investment while Bansals (the mom-dad of Flipkart) hold around 37% in the brand. With this share, its difficult for them to negotiate a deal to save their baby. Flipkart who currently has a revenue of $350 million was having a profit margin deficit and only recently got to a 2-3% profit margin that too after extension of product catalogue. Thats the main reason they cannot get listed on the local stock exchange and get money in through IPO owing to the stringent entry norms. So one of the lucrative options they have left is to get listed abroad or sell off the business and go for Char Dhaam yatra !!

So consider this current scenario where Flipkart is looking for funds from people and people do come in handy not just by buying books at discounted rates but investing in the brand too. How would that go if some of our country's finest lend their hand and in return look for Flipkart to for some inspiration out of their business model to get their business done? Lets take a sneak peek !!

Our ministers will be the first to seize the opportunity (as always) and take help of the 5000 odd delivery men to transport their black money from one hand to the other. Obviously the question marks will be there on how legitimate the investments are !!

Next our various sports teams in India especially the Hockey team after its disastrous performance at Olympics will provide some funds and in return will wear Flipkart on their jerseys. The primary motive being that they will deliver on time.

Next in line would be our not so successful actors like Fardeen Khan & Harman Baweja who would invest in this ecommerce venture and take lessons from them about how to diverse their portfolio with more things to offer than just one 'blank face' before the camera !!

Not far behind would be our directors who would look to induce the 'Pay after delivery' system with respect to the payments of our heroines and their obese meddlesome mothers.

Also film distributors would look to learn and adopt the '30 day moneyback guarantee' from Flipkart if the movie does not do well.

Finally and as usual in the end, the mango people will make their small bid towards this cause by contributing the usual way i.e. pay for the items on show. Be it books or electronic items, there is no dispute that Flipkart is one of the names on everyone's mouths. Afterall little drops of water make the mighty ocean !!

China 'Bullied' or 'Bears' it all !!!

China seems to be the destination to be ... Investors are looking to get their hands 'red' with a handful of China everywhere. While it is deemed to be THE upcoming market in the world but is it that lucrative for the individual investors ??
China's GDP has increased by almost 4 times in the past decade perhaps making it an awesome investment to buy, even better than owning an ice gola shop in this sweltering heat !!
But GDP does not act as a security, in transition if we look China's stock markets have hardly showed any transition. It seems that the Chinese production is running the marathon while their stock exchanges (Shanghai & Shenzhen) are running the 110 metres hurdles. Liu Xiang dont get worked up, its just a reference !!!
But the blame has to go to the Initial public offering system in place. The prices are heavily over priced for the benefit of bankers and underwriters but there are huge losses on the first day of trading itself. The small time investors have lost the confidence with this pattern. Pretty much like how Bollywood has in Uday Chopra & Tushhar Kapoor.
However off late a new set of rules for stock listing have been injected which would bring in much needed stability to the 'Roller coaster' markets. This would decrease the decade long financial erectile dysfunction and probably help China 'climax' at the right time.

So does that mean that a fast growing country disappoints the investors ? Well the analysts tend to agree.
Stock markets in China and even other fast growing nations came into real existence only in the last two decades as compared to the NASDAQs and the LSEs. Plus there is a severe dilution of individual investors as the investors tend to invest on both the exchanges simultaneously. The exchanges acted as an exit route for companies from their difficulties rather than focussing on investors.
The other main reason is the political and legal scenario engulfing these markets. The insider trading phenomenon had hit them hard. The investors or people in close contact with the inner most circles made substantial profit. Its very much like how the only person to know the syllabus right before the exam is the photocopier guy.
So the Chinese equity markets are in a transition phase and with some serious amendments made, they will make the grade. Till then its less sugar in your tea ... as they say 'Chini kam' !!

IPO - 'I' 'P'rior to 'O'thers !!!

During my childhood days there was this game which I played called Hungry Hippos where my objective was to gobble as much of balls in the Hippos large mouth as possible. Well in the current scenario 'Company' has replaced me and 'Hippo' by IPO.

An IPO (Initial Public Offering for all) has become an instrument of gluttony. Gluttony of funds from the public.

My love story with IPOs started when as part of a subject we as a group were studying the ins & outs or rather the sins & touts of the IPO !! Now every brown paper I see, I look for the IPO related news.

In the past few days, there is a plethora of happenings in the world of IPOs.

Our very own Mahesh uncle came with one. Mahesh uncle who is the proprietor of Mahesh Tutorials aka MT Educare has the offering of shares going on with the purpose being expansion of branches. But who thought that a guy running couple of batches in Sion (atleast I know about just this) will come up with a listed empire of his own.

But the last year has not been very kind to the IPOs with almost half of the 30 odd ones which have featured have fallen by 50%. L&T Finance could not cash in on its promoter's name while Taksheel as the name sounds became a site of battle ruins. Indo-Thai got one between the thighs but some like One Life Capital thanked their stars. And finally there was MCX which showed the way with a whopping 54 times over subscription. But even with this Goliaths among Davids still the Merchant Bankers are getting a beating as to why they did not offer a higher price band. As they sacrificed on price band now their life becomes a elastic rubber band .. Boinngg !!!

So with the markets a bit favourable and every Alter-Cheney-Baweja coming out with an IPO of their own, I have decided to get one of my own too. Ta Daa !!!

Since the disclosures are way too many, I wont bore you with all the facts and frankly blogger wont allow me too.

So here is a 'Time period of Trivedi after Budget' sneak peek of what my IPO will offer:

Revenue generated through the offer will directly go to my account and the utilization of those funds are upto my discretion. The utilization though will be done in a variety of social ways possible  like helping poor by using their products thereby uplifting them out of their debts. Mr. Mallya hope you are listening.

I have 'Dad' bank as my Merchant bankers who are over the years kind enough to sort out my financial difficulties. Underwriters are 'College Peers co. Ltd' who are brilliant when it comes to writing under pressure.

Well I dont believe that sharing is caring, as a result I am the only Top Shareholder in disclosure.

Finally, any IPO will not be complete without this ... Investing in my IPO is subject to market (read every) risk, please read (Its ok if you procrastinate) the offer document carefully before (OMG you are *faints*) investing !!!