New Delhi — India’s new foreign investment restrictions for its e-commerce sector, which includes giants such as Amazon.com and Walmart-owned Flipkart, could reduce online sales by $46bn by 2022, according to a draft analysis from global consultants PwC. Under the changes, e-commerce firms in India will from February 1 be unable to sell products via companies in which they have an equity interest or push sellers to sell exclusively on their platforms. Announced in December, just months before a general election due by May, the rules are seen as an attempt by Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government to appease millions of small traders and shopkeepers, who form a key voter base and say their businesses have been threatened by global online retailers. Industry sources told Reuters the policy will delay or derail some investment plans and push companies such as Amazon and Flipkart to create new, more complex business structures. In a private analysis by PwC based on estimates provided...
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