Weekly News Wrap: Russia turns to Chinese and Indian retailers; Alibaba’s shares rise 11% after raising share buyback program
And Indian lenders are set to start debt recovery proceedings against Future Retail.
From Reuters:
Russia is looking to China, India, Iran and Turkey to plug the gap created by an exodus of western retail companies, an industry body said on Friday, as Moscow grapples to find ways to combat its growing isolation in the face of sanctions.
The Russian Council of Shopping Centres (RCSC), an organisation representing developers, shopping centre owners and retail chain operators, said it was negotiating with its corresponding representatives in the four countries about finding alternatives to western brands.
"A list of foreign companies that have temporarily ceased operations in Russia was sent to them so that appropriate equivalents can be found," a statement on the RCSC website read.
"Over time this will help supplement or completely replace goods of the defunct brands with ones of a similar quality and design."
Dozens of big brands have temporarily shuttered operations or exited the country since Russia sent tens of thousands of troops into Ukraine on 24 February in what it calls a special operation.
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From CNBC:
Alibaba’s Hong Kong-listed stock closed more than 11% on Tuesday after the Chinese e-commerce giant said it would increase the size of its share buyback program from $15 billion to $25b.
The share repurchase scheme will be effective for a two-year period through March 2024, the company said.
Alibaba has bought back about 56.2 million American depositary shares (ADRs), worth about $9.2b, under the previously announced buyback program. ADRs are listed in the US and act as proxies for foreign companies.
The Hangzhou-headquartered e-commerce giant is looking to boost investor confidence as its shares have lost around two-thirds of their value since hitting an all-time high in October 2020.
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From Reuters:
Indian lenders are set to initiate debt recovery proceedings against Future Retail this week to safeguard their interests after rival Reliance unexpectedly took over some of the retailer's stores, two bankers said.
Pandemic-hit Future has been struggling to pay off its debt and is fighting a bitter legal battle with US retail giant Amazon. That battle has successfully blocked a $3.4b sale of its retail assets to India's largest retailer Reliance, citing violation of certain contracts.
Future denies any wrongdoing. But Reliance Industries suddenly took control of hundreds of Future stores late last month, citing non-payment of rent, after assuming many of the leases held by cash-strapped Future.
Read more here.
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