MAM
MPG launches mobile marketing arm MOBEXT
MUMBAI: Havas Media’s flagship brand, MPG India, has launched its mobile marketing brand Mobext in Asia with India being chosen one of the first markets for the roll out.
As part of the launch the agency has also made three senior appointments: Arnav Neel Ghosh joins as general manager for South Asia, while Ashutosh S Srivastava is appointed as the business director and Rahul Shinde as senior business executive. The team in India is also expected to expand in the next few months.
Ghosh moves in from Digital at Iris Nation, where he was executive vice-president and has previously worked in senior roles at Publicis Modem and Active Media Technology, a UK based mobile marketing company. Ashutosh was most recently the associate director of mobile marketing at ACL Wireless and has had stints at Mobile2Win and ConnectTurf.
Mobext, a network brand of Havas Media specialising in Mobile Marketing, is currently present in eight markets globally. The new brand is expected to strengthen the digital offerings of Havas Media, which currently has a digital media agency brand in Media Contacts.
Within this year, the brand is slated to be launched in China, Indonesia and Philippines and the company will look at both greenfield as well as partnership entry strategies.
Mobext will offer messaging services such as sms and download; mobile internet services like WAP consulting and development, mobile display, mobile search and proximity based services including LBS and mapping. It will also offer integration through reporting and analytics by Havas Digital’s campaign management platform.
The network agency currently handles a host of blue chip clients in different parts of the world including Nike, Coca Cola, McDonalds, Fanta, Kia, Volvo, BMW, Peugeot, Citroen, BNP Paribas, Credit Suisse, BBC, Dell and Sears.
Mobext Havas Media CEO Asia Pacific Vishnu Mohan said: “Asia presents an enormous potential in the mobile space with high levels of penetration, installed base and growth rates. All our clients have needs in this space and we want to ensure that as a media agency we are not neglecting such an important medium and one that will gain even more prominence in the future.
Mohan also said that mobile allows advertisers to reach their audience on a more engaged basis and Mobext will be helpful in this process.
“Mobext has been doing very well in other markets and we have been waiting for the right time and the right people to launch it in Asia. What better market to launch than India, which has whopping 790 million mobile users currently and is also a key market for the group in Asia Pacific region”, Mohan added.
Further enhancing the importance of Indian market, Mohan clarified that with 790 million mobile users, there was no better market in Asia to launch this product.
“Mobile offers advertisers an interesting media to reach their audience on a more engaged basis and the launch of Mobext will fulfil this need. We are looking launch the brand in China, Indonesia and Philippines within the year and will look at both greenfield as well as partnership entry strategies”, Mohan concluded.
Havas Media MPG CEO South Asia Anita Nayyar said: “Mobile marketing is gathering steam and it is the right time for us to offer specialised mobile marketing expertise to help our clients leverage this platform. In Arnav and Ashutosh we have identified the right candidates to take charge of Mobext. Arnav’s experience in successfully launching and managing agencies will be invaluable for us while Ashutosh’s hands on experience with cutting edge mobile campaigns will be a real asset for our clients.”
Brands
Flipkart completes reverse flip to India ahead of IPO
Walmart-owned e-commerce giant shifts domicile from Singapore to Bengaluru
MUMBAI: Flipkart has completed its restructuring to move its parent company from Singapore back to India, marking a key milestone as the Walmart-owned marketplace prepares for a potential initial public offering on Indian stock exchanges, ET reported, citing people aware of the matter.
The move, often referred to as a “reverse flip”, relocates the company’s legal home to India and aligns its corporate structure more closely with its largest market. It also clears an important regulatory step for Flipkart as it explores listing plans.
As part of the restructuring, several Singapore-based entities have been merged into Flipkart Internet Private Limited, which will now serve as the main holding company for the entire group.
The consolidation brings a number of major businesses directly under the Indian parent company. These include fashion platform Myntra, logistics arm Ekart, travel booking platform Cleartrip, healthcare marketplace Flipkart Health, and fintech venture Super.money.
Under the new structure, global investors including Walmart, Microsoft, SoftBank, and the Canada Pension Plan Investment Board will hold their stakes directly in the Indian entity rather than through an overseas holding company.
The redomiciliation required approval from the Indian government because Chinese technology company Tencent owns around a 5 to 6 per cent stake in Flipkart. Under Press Note 3, investments from countries sharing a land border with India require prior government clearance.
Flipkart had already secured approval from the National Company Law Tribunal in December. With the latest clearance from the central government, the company has now obtained all the regulatory approvals needed to complete the relocation, ET reported earlier.
Flipkart had originally shifted its holding structure to Singapore in 2011 to tap global capital more easily. However, as India’s capital markets have matured, several start-ups have begun returning their domiciles to the country ahead of public listings. Companies such as Razorpay, Groww, and Meesho have taken similar steps.
The company is now expected to move ahead with its IPO preparations and has begun early discussions with merchant bankers. According to people familiar with the matter, Flipkart could file its draft prospectus later this year, setting the stage for what may become one of the most closely watched listings in India’s e-commerce sector.
Flipkart has been majority-owned by Walmart since 2018, when the US retail giant acquired a 77 per cent stake in the company for $16 billion in one of the largest e-commerce deals globally.
