Reuters reveals India planning foreign investment rule changes that could hit Amazon, Walmart

On Jan. 22, an Indian trader group representing millions of brick-and-mortar retailers said it has received government assurances that stringent changes will be made to foreign investment rules for e-commerce, confirming an exclusive Reuters report earlier in the week. Reuters revealed that the Indian government was considering revising its policy, a move that could deal a major blow to U.S. firms Amazon.com Inc and Walmart Inc in one of the world’s fastest growing retail markets. The new rules could tweak critical clauses that govern how big sellers offer goods on Amazon and Walmart’s Flipkart. Amazon, which has committed investments of $6.5 billion in India, and Walmart, which pumped in $16 billion in Flipkart in 2018, were last hit by such changes in India in 2018 following complaints from angry local retailers.