Singapore tribunal rejects Future’s plea to lift ban on Reliance deal

New Delhi, October 22

The Singapore-based arbitrator, SIAC, has rejected Future Retail’s plea to lift the interim stay on its Rs 24,713-crore deal with Reliance Retail, giving a major relief to Amazon that is contesting the transaction.

The development comes a day after the Singapore International Arbitration Centre (SIAC) held that Future Retail is a party to the ongoing arbitration between Amazon and Future group in the dispute over the sale of its assets to Reliance Retail.

Future had contended before the SIAC that it should be excluded from arbitration proceedings because it is not a party to the dispute between its promoter Future Coupons Pvt Ltd (FCPL) and Amazon.

In a regulatory filing on Friday, Future Retail Ltd (FRL) said it has received SIAC’s decision dated October 21, 2021 on its plea to vacate the Interim Award of the Emergency Arbitrator dated October 25, 2020.

“The Tribunal is satisfied that the orders set out in… the EA Award was correctly granted, and have not been vitiated by any subsequent events or proceedings. Further or alternatively, the Respondents have not demonstrated that circumstances have materially changed to justify any change to the EA Award,” the filing said. The company would be deciding on its future course of action based on the legal advice and available remedies in law, it added.

Amazon, which is trying to block Future’s Rs 24,713-crore sale of its retail, wholesale, logistics and warehousing assets to Reliance Industries’ retail arm, has alleged that the Reliance Retail Ventures Ltd (RRVL)-Future deal breaches its own pact of 2019 with the Kishore Biyani-led company. — PTI

Rs24,713-crore transaction

• Amazon has alleged that the Reliance Retail Ventures Ltd-Future deal breaches its own pact of 2019 with the Kishore Biyani-led company
• In August last year, Reliance Retail had said it will acquire the retail and wholesale business, and the logistics and warehousing business of Future Group for Rs24,713 crore