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| Mukesh Ambani: Asia's richest man takes on retail giant Amazon | |
| (about 1 hour later) | |
| A conglomerate run by Asia's richest man has started a service that aims to compete with Amazon in India. | |
| Mukesh Ambani's Reliance Industries said it had been inviting people to sign up to its grocery delivery service. | |
| The company is aiming to use its massive mobile phone customer base as a springboard for the business. | The company is aiming to use its massive mobile phone customer base as a springboard for the business. |
| The new e-commerce venture could become a major challenger to India's existing online retail giants. | |
| Two subsidiaries of Mr Ambani's business empire, Reliance Retail and Reliance Jio, said they had soft-launched the venture, called JioMart. | Two subsidiaries of Mr Ambani's business empire, Reliance Retail and Reliance Jio, said they had soft-launched the venture, called JioMart. |
| JioMart says it offers "free and express delivery" for a list of grocery goods, which currently numbers some 50,000 items. | JioMart says it offers "free and express delivery" for a list of grocery goods, which currently numbers some 50,000 items. |
| Unlike its rivals, JioMart will connect local stores to customers via an app rather than providing and delivering the goods itself. | Unlike its rivals, JioMart will connect local stores to customers via an app rather than providing and delivering the goods itself. |
| India's online grocery market is in its infancy - currently estimated to be worth around $870m a year, with just 0.15% of the population using such services. | India's online grocery market is in its infancy - currently estimated to be worth around $870m a year, with just 0.15% of the population using such services. |
| However, analysts predict the sector could see annual sales of around $14.5bn by 2023. | However, analysts predict the sector could see annual sales of around $14.5bn by 2023. |
| India's e-commerce market is currently dominated by Amazon and Flipkart, which is owned by Walmart. | India's e-commerce market is currently dominated by Amazon and Flipkart, which is owned by Walmart. |
| Both companies suffered a setback last year when the Indian government introduced new laws that restrict foreign-owned online retailers from selling goods from their own subsidiaries. | Both companies suffered a setback last year when the Indian government introduced new laws that restrict foreign-owned online retailers from selling goods from their own subsidiaries. |
| This helped give Indian companies, which are not affected by the new rules, an edge over their foreign rivals. | This helped give Indian companies, which are not affected by the new rules, an edge over their foreign rivals. |
| Mr Ambani, who is the chairman of Reliance Industries, has an estimated fortune of more than $60bn (£45bn). | |
| The group's core business is oil refining but it also has major investments in other sectors including retail and telecoms. | |
| Reliance Retail owns grocery stores in India, runs outlets for global brands, including Hugo Boss and Burberry, and in 2019 bought the British toy shop Hamleys. | Reliance Retail owns grocery stores in India, runs outlets for global brands, including Hugo Boss and Burberry, and in 2019 bought the British toy shop Hamleys. |
| Reliance Jio is India's second-largest telecom operator, with more than 360 million subscribers. | Reliance Jio is India's second-largest telecom operator, with more than 360 million subscribers. |