StartupTalky

Tag: loss

  • Snapchat $10 Billion Loss – How Will It Become Profitable?

    As early as a day ago, the news headlines screamed about Snapchat losing USD 10 billion as its stock fell at a 52-week low.  The company lost nearly 40% of its value and reported a net loss of USD 422 million.  This is a consecutive loss after it reported a loss of USD 152 million the previous year as well.

    Snapchat – A Brief
    The Rising Fame of Snapchat
    The Reason for the Loss
    The Future of Snapchat

    Snapchat – A Brief

    Snapchat Inc. later renamed Snap Inc., developed the American multimedia instant messaging app Snapchat. It was created by Evan Spiegel, Bobby Murphy and Reggie Brown, all former students of Stanford University.  Snapchat app became known for representing the new mobile-first direction for social media.  It places significant importance on users interacting with virtual stickers and augmented reality objects.

    Snapchat’s principal feature is that pictures and stories are available only for a short time to their recipients. Over time the app has evolved from a person-to-person photo sharing to now sharing ‘stories’ of 24 hours of chronological content.  It also allows brands to show ad-supported short-form content.  Its privacy includes allowing users to keep their personal photos in a password-protected space called ‘my eyes only’.

    Snapchat exchanges more than four billion snaps a day. It registered a 23% growth last year in its user base registering a total of 293 million daily active users. Due to its popularity among the younger generation, specifical users under the age of 16 years, it has raised privacy concerns for the parents.

    The Rising Fame of Snapchat

    Evan Spiegel, Bobby Murphy and Reggie Brown worked closely together to develop the app, which was initially, launched in July 2011 as ‘Picaboo’. The app was so named due to its feature of disappearing pictures. It was relaunched as Snapchat in September 2011. From thereon, the company turned its focus from branding efforts to usability and technical aspects.

    2012 – Trouble started brewing between the three app developers over the partnership and it took on the form of a legal battle.

    2012 – The CEO of Snapchat, Evan Spiegel described the company’s mission – “Snapchat isn’t about capturing the traditional Kodak moment. It’s about communicating with the full range of human emotion—not just what appears to be pretty or perfect.” He further elaborated and positioned Snapchat as the solution to the stress that was created due to the longevity of personal data on social media

    2012 – This resulted in an increase of Snapchat images sent per second from 25 in May 2012 to 20 million images per day by November of that year.  Within a space of 6 months, users had shared over one billion photos on the Snapchat iOS app

    2012 – Snapchat also released the Android app in October this year

    2013 – A new version 5.0 of Snapchat was released for iOS.  New features were available in this updated version like speed and design enhancements, swipe navigation, an improved friend finder and in-app profiles

    2013 – In June Snapchat introduced Snapkidz.  This app was made for children under 13 years of age.  It was a part of Snapchat and activated only when the user verified their age by keying in his/her birthdate.  This app only allowed users to click photos and draw restricting them to send to other users.  Also, any photos could only be saved locally on the device being used.

    2014 – In September Reggie Brown settled with Spiegel and Murphy for USD 157.5 million and was also credited as one of the authors of Snapchat

    2015 – Snapchat’s users were sending 6 billion videos per day by November

    2016 – In a few short months that figure reached 10 billion videos per day

    2016 – By May of this year, Snapchat had generated strong investor interest and raised USD 8.1 billion in equity offering

    2017 – The app’s popularity had grown its daily active user base of 166 million by May

    2017 – In November Snapchat ran into a spot of trouble when its redesign was not received enthusiastically.  This caused Snap Inc., to lose USD 1.3 billion in market value

    2019 – Snapchat rallied and by the end of the year had ranked as the fifth most downloaded app of the decade

    2020 – Snapchat acquired AI Factory, a computer vision start-up to boost its video capabilities

    2020 – In November Snapchat announced ‘Snapchat Spotlight’.  It declared a total pay out of USD 1 million a day to users posting viral videos.  However, the criteria for a video to be considered viral was not specified, nor was there any clarification on the distribution of the prize money

    2022 – Last month Snapchat announced its plans to launch Snapchat Plus – a subscription-based model.  The subscription will allow its users access to additional features and an ability to change the app icon.

    The Reason for the Loss

    Snap Inc., the camera and social media company went public in 2017 with a share value of USD 27.  In October of 2021 its stock price peaked at USD 83.  The stock saw a deep plunge of 25% just a few days before after the company posted a Q2 loss of USD 422 million.

    The company’s second-quarter investor letter read – “The second quarter of 2022 proved more challenging than we expected, Our financial results for Q2 do not reflect the scale of our ambition. We are not satisfied with the results we are delivering, regardless of the current headwinds.”

    Although Snap’s user base has grown from the first-quarter’s 332 million to second-quarter’s 347 million daily active users, the company’s losses have been attributed to a few broader reasons

    • Increase in cost of revenue – payments to content partners, costs of creating content and inventory costs for Spectacles – the company’s camera-enabled sunglasses.
    • Snapchat’s rejection of USD 3 billion from Facebook resulted in Facebook turning Instagram into a formidable competition to Snapchat. Instagram offers the same features made better than Snapchat.
    • The reduced advertising content on Snapchat is increasing pressure on revenue.
    • Economic challenges mean Snap is facing rising inflation and interest rates, supply chain shortages, labour disruption, policy changes as regards to the platform and, of course, the effects of the ongoing war.

    The company has announced a significant slow-down of the hiring process.

    The Future of Snapchat

    Apple’s change in privacy policy has adversely affected many social media platforms and Snapchat is no exception. In April 2021, Apple announced it would ask iPhone users for permission before allowing social media apps to track their activity. This move is likely to be replicated by Google for Android devices. This move threatens companies like Snap whose revenue is largely dependent on selling smartphone ads.

    However, the company is already on a quest of diverse revenue streams. It has already launched or has begun developing several new features designed to encourage users to buy products from brands within the app. It will allow Snap to earn commissions and increase revenue.

    The company is, although going through a troubled time, by no means finished. It is already ideating and creating new revenue streams to emerge stronger and post substantial profits in the future.

    FAQs

    Why did Snapchat lose $10 billion?

    Apple’s change of privacy policy, tough competition, and rescued advertising content were some of the reasons why Snapchat stocks dropped.

    What is the future of Snapchat?

    The future of Snapchat depends on the new features the app may introduce and its subscription services.

  • Indian Entrepreneurs who lost money since 2020

    2020 has been a terrible year for all of us financially. People lost their jobs, business went into loss and many shops ended up with unsold and wasted products. While the middle class managed the crisis by cutting down expenditures, top entrepreneurs across the country are forced to do the same.

    Since 2020, millionaire and billionaire entrepreneurs in India have suffered back breaking losses. Crores of rupees went down the drain as the market went south and businesses were closed. Hospitality agencies, food delivery chains and e-commerce business owners were among many who faced losses.

    Here is the list of top Indian entrepreneurs who lost money since 2020:

    Ritesh Agarwal
    Sachin and Binny Bansal
    Kumar Mangalam
    Vijay Shekhar Sharma
    Vipul Parekh, Sudhakar, Hari Menon, Ramesh, and Abhinay Choudhri
    Naresh Goyal
    Sunil Bharti Mittal
    Kavin Bharti Mittal
    Suraj Saharan, Sahil Barua, Bhavesh Manglani, Mohit Tandon, Kapil Bharti
    Deepinder Goyal
    FAQ

    Ritesh Agarwal

    Company – OYO Rooms

    Ritesh Agarwal
    Ritesh Agarwal

    The youngest billionaire of India, Ritesh Agarwal suffered a loss of a staggering 3000 crores in 2020. The company’s net worth fell by 40%. One of the reasons is supposed to be ‘the conflicts with hotel owners’, said Masayoshi Son.

    It is also contemplated that the investors got overly enthusiastic with the idea and overdid the whole thing without thinking much about the shortcomings.

    Sachin Bansal and Binny Bansal

    Company – Flipkart

    Sachin Bansal and Binny Bansal
    Sachin Bansal and Binny Bansal

    In March 2017, the company had 39.5% of all e-commerce market shares. Then, in August 2018, 77% of Flipkart’s shares were bought by Walmart, an American retail corporation. In FY 2020, it reported losses of Rs 1936.6 crore with Rs 6317.7 crore in revenue.

    Kumar Mangalam

    Company – Idea

    Kumar Mangalam
    Kumar Mangalam

    After the emergence of Jio, many network companies in India suffered major losses. ‘Idea’ is no different. In March 2020, the company was Rs. 1,15,000 deep in debt including Rs. 87,650 due to deferred payment obligations. Rs. 46,000 crores were to be paid as AGR dues. Rs. 68,544 million were paid.

    The company faced a loss of Rs 73,878 crores with Rs 44, 957.5 crore as revenue in FY 2020. The CEO, Ravinder Takkar has said that they are focusing on 4G coverage and capacity expansion to improve customer’s overall experience.

    Vijay Shekhar Sharma

    Company – Paytm

    Vijay Shekhar Sharma
    Vijay Shekhar Sharma

    Paytm is also lost money due to many competitors in the e-payment sector. In Ant Group IPO filing, losses are seen to be around 1435 crores. There was some light as it cut its losses by 28% in FY 20 but its revenues have also fallen 1% to 3350 crores.

    20 Biggest Startups that Shut Down in 2021 | Startuptalky
    Check out the list of 20 Infamous Indian Startups that Shut down in 2020. Reasons for the shut down of startups and their million dollar ideas are…
    StartupTalkyGorish Dua

    Vipul Parekh, Sudhakar, Hari Menon, Ramesh, and Abhinay Choudhri

    Company – Big Basket

    Soon to be acquired by Tata group, this Alibaba-backed company offers home delivery of groceries. The company went unicorn in March 2019 but now records heavy losses back-to-back.

    It lost Rs 611 cores which were greater by 6.7% as compared to last year. The company is planning to be big in the coming year but now, it’s losing huge amounts of money each year.

    Naresh Goyal

    Company – Jet Airways

    Naresh Goyal
    Naresh Goyal

    After being grounded for nearly two years, the company suffered a loss of Rs 2,841.45 crores in FY 2020. 2019-20 total income was Rs 354.2 crores as per said in BSE filing. The company has been struggling financially since April 18, 2019.

    It’s under CIRP i.e., the Corporate Insolvency Resolution Process. The company failed to get funds for even daily operations and was temporarily shut down.

    Sunil Bharti Mittal

    Company – Airtel

    Sunil Bharti Mittal
    Sunil Bharti Mittal

    Bharti Airtel posted a net loss of Rs 2,866 crores by the end of the June quarter. The company has been in loss for a long time now and is struggling to get the back on its feet. The tough competition among Indian network services and the free services of Jio for a substantially long time has left very little room for other companies to thrive.

    Kavin Bharti Mittal

    Company – Hike

    Kavin Bharti Mittal
    Kavin Bharti Mittal

    Hike has been the sole local competitor of the online messaging giant, WhatsApp. But right since the beginning, it has been struggling with its operations. Hike’s revenue in 2019 was mere Rs 13,000 crore.

    It has failed to generate any substantial revenue in FY 2020. The company has been cutting down its losses as much as it can by reducing marketing expenses and employee benefit expenses.

    Failed Startups In India | Why Indian Startups Are Not Successful
    Why do many Indian startups fail to soar high in the sky? The reasons are evident from this case study comprising 15 ill-fated Indian startups.
    StartupTalkyLakshya Singh

    Suraj Saharan, Sahil Barua, Bhavesh Manglani, Mohit Tandon, Kapil Bharti

    Company – Delhivery

    Delhivery is an e-commerce logistics startup based in Gurugram. This suffered loss of Rs 284.13 crores in FY 2020. Unlike other companies on this list, Delhivery has managed to cut down its losses drastically from Rs 1781.04 crores in FY 2019.

    Its revenue for 2020 was Rs 2986 crores with expenses of Rs 3250 crores. The company is also planning for public listing in 2022-23.

    Deepinder Goyal

    Company – Zomato

    Deepinder Goyal
    Deepinder Goyal

    Zomato’s losses went up by 160% in the fiscal year 2020. It reported a loss of Rs 2,451 crores. The expenses of the company went up by 36% to Rs 4,628 crores. The good news is that the revenue also grew.

    Zomato also started dine-out which is mainly a transactional business as customers have to pay through the Zomato app. Zomato is a food delivery company which is bound to lose money in the Covid era. But there’s hope for growth as Deepinder Goyal is confident that it will witness a steep recovery post-Covid.

    Conclusion

    These were some of the Indian Entrepreneurs who lost crores of rupees due to various reasons. Some of them may recover and for some; it’s highly unlikely.

    FAQ

    Did entrepreneurs lost money in 2020?

    Yes, Many entrepreneurs lost money in 2020. Some of the top entrepreneurs who incurred huge losses are Deepinder Goyal, Vijay Shekar Sharma, Ritesh Agarwal and Sachin and Binny Bansal.

    What were the challenges faced by entrepreneurs by startups in 2020?

    Some of the challenges faced by entrepreneurs in 2020 were acquire funding to start the business, keeping existing customer, and finding new customers.

  • Why the parent company of Zara is shutting down its stores in Venezuela?

    Inditex is a Spanish based multinational clothing company. It has its headquarters located in Spain and was formed in the year 1985. They own the famous clothing brands such as Zara, Pull&Bear, Bershka, Zara Home, Massimo Dutti and many more. The company has announced that it is shutting down all its stores in Venezuela. Let’s look at the reason behind it.

    Zara – Latest News
    Email Statement by Inditex
    About Phoenix World Trade
    Reason Why Zara is shutting down its Store in Venezuela
    FAQ

    Zara – Latest News

    The parent company of Zara, Pull&Bear and Bershka, Inditex has conveyed that in the next few weeks it would close all its shops in Venezuela. The companies Zara, Pull&Bear and Bershka have been operating as franchises in Venezuela since the year 2007 even though it is owned by Inditex SA.

    The three retail brands have already shut down a number of their outlets in the malls with some of the outlets displaying new logos and names carrying the board coming soon.

    Email Statement by Inditex

    The Operations Director Andres Brant has conveyed through an email statement that the other 5 outlets which are open under the previous model will cease their operation in the next few weeks. He added that the franchises of Inditex which is operated by Phoenix World Trade in the Dominican Republic and Aruba will stay open.

    What Do You Need To Know Before You Open Your Own Retail Store?
    Do you think you’re ready to open a retail store? That’s great. It means youhave a vision, a product in mind, and an image of how your future business lookslike. Opening a retail store amidst tons of flourishing e-commerce businessescan be daunting. Not to worry. In this article, I am going to an…
    StartupTalkyGorish Dua

    About Phoenix World Trade

    Phoenix World Trade is a Panamanian based company that is run by Camilo Ibrahim. The Phoenix World Trade manages the franchise. The company has conveyed that they are re-evaluating the commercial presence of their brands Zara, Bershka and Pull&Bear according to the new model announced by Inditex SA.

    The new model is expected to make the outlets more logical towards digital transformation and integration model.

    Number of Inditex Group stores Worldwide
    Number of Inditex Group stores Worldwide

    H&M Becomes India’s Largest Clothing Brand, Surpasses Zara
    Hennes and Mauritz, a Sweden based fashion retailer brand has recently overtakenits prime rival Zara [https://startuptalky.com/zara-loss-case-study/#]to become India’s largest clothing brand by revenue in the FY19-20, helped by aggressive storeexpansion and decrease in prices. Swedish brand H&M …
    StartupTalkyTanusha Verma

    Reason Why Zara is shutting down its Store in Venezuela

    The reason for the move is mainly because the Venezuelan government had increased its efforts to bring in more foreign direct investments into the country by withdrawing the socialist policies which were present in the country for a very long time.

    The administration under Nicolas Maduro had allowed the country to transact through dollarization from the year 2019 due to the compel by the U.S sanctions. This let the private companies in the country more freedom to operate.

    The Inditex brands were very popular among the Venezuelans as they used to always line up outside the outlets in order to purchase the products whenever the government had forced to reduce the prices or allowed the company to import merchandises at a subsidized price.

    FAQ

    How many stores does Zara have in 2020?

    Zara has around 2000 stores in 2020.

    Which country has the most number of Zara stores?

    Spain has the most number of Zara stores.

    How many stores does Zara have in India?

    Zara has around 22 stores in India.

    Conclusion

    In the year 1998, Inditex had entered the Venezuelan market, in the beginning managing the retail stores and then moving into the franchise model. The lack of merchandise often led the company to temporarily close the franchise outlets due to years of price controls and exchange rates.

  • Why did Alibaba saw a loss for the first time in years?

    Alibaba Group Holding Limited which is also known as Alibaba group is a Chinese based technology company. The company was founded in the year 1999 and has its headquarters located in Zhejiang. Alibaba group specializes in e-commerce, internet, technology and retail sectors. The company has recorded a loss for the first time ever, so let’s look at the reason behind it.

    Results of Alibaba
    Reason for the Loss
    The shares of Alibaba
    FAQ

    Results of Alibaba

    The top e-commerce platform of China Alibaba had recorded a loss of 7.66 billion yuan on 13 May 2021 for its first quarterly results. This is the first time the company has recorded a loss in its history after going public in the year 2014.

    The company has recorded an annual revenue of 930 billion yuan for the year ending March 2022 which is more than what they had estimated that is 982.25 billion yuan.

    There was an increase in the core commerce revenue of the company of around 72% which was amounted to 161.37 billion yuan in the fourth quarter. But the company’s cloud computing has seen a slow in its growth which had reduced by 58% to 37 % compared to the previous year to 16.8 billion yuan. This is considered to be the most weakest growth since the year 2016.

    The overall revenue of the company has seen an increase with 187.4 billion yuan for the fourth quarter when compared to the Refinitiv forecast of 180.41 billion.

    JackMa Pens down Letter Ahead of Stepping Down
    Jack Ma, the executive chairman of Chinese e-commerce giant, Alibaba is to stepdown in September 2019. With just a year left, JackMa has penned down a letterto his employees, shareholders and customers. He pointed out that a companycannot be forever cradled by its founders and there’s a need to b…
    StartupTalkyShubham Kumar

    Reason for the Loss

    The main reason for the recorded loss by the company is considered to be the regulations bought in by the Chinese regulators. The regulatory crackdown in China had led to the suspension of one of the biggest IPO of the affiliate company of Alibaba Group, Ant group where the IPO was estimated to be USD 37 billion.

    Other than that, the company was fined by the Chinese regulators on the basis of anti-competitive business practices with a fine of USD 2.8 billion. The fine had led to an operating loss in the fourth quarter of around 7.66 billion yuan.

    The slow growth in the cloud computing sector is due to a top customer which had a huge presence outside of China in the cloud computing business of Alibaba. The company had conveyed that the customer had ended its business for non-product related reasons which led to the slower growth.

    The reasons why Alibaba might be fined $1 billion by China
    Alibaba Group was founded on 28 June 1999. It is known as Alibaba Group HoldingLimited and also as Alibaba.com. It is a multi-national company which is basedin Zhejiang, China. Alibaba group specializes in e-commerce, technology, retail,and the internet. Alibaba is one of the world’s largest e-c…
    StartupTalkyAlan Joseph

    The shares of Alibaba

    The US listed shares of Alibaba group had seen a fall of around 3% in the choppy market even though there was an increase in the revenue of the company as the pandemic had forced people to depend more on the e-commerce solutions and would help the company recover easily from its losses.

    It is seen that since the shares of Alibaba group had hit a record high in October, the US listed shares have fallen more than 30% as the founder Jack Ma had delivered a speech in Shanghai where he criticized the financial regulators of China.

    Brock Silvers who is the Chief Investment Officer at the Hong-Kong based Adamas Asset Management has said that the fall in the share price of Alibaba reflects that there is anxiety amongst the investor community in regards to the regulation.

    He added that the company has currently faced a huge regulatory risk, which has now become a threat to the entire technology sector.

    Daniel Zhang who is the Chief Executive officer had conveyed in an earnings call that the penalty decision had motivated them to reflect on the relationship between the economy of the platform and society, as well as their commitments and their social responsibilities.

    FAQ

    Who owns Alibaba now?

    SoftBank Group is the major shareholder of Alibaba.

    Who is the current CEO of Alibaba?

    Daniel Zhang is the current CEO of Alibaba.

    Is Alibaba bigger than Amazon?

    Amazon is vastly larger than Alibaba.

    Conclusion

    Alibaba group is one of the largest and successful e-commerce groups in China. As of 2020, the company has around 779 million active subscribers.

  • Reasons Why Nomura saw a loss of $2.3 Billion

    Nomura Holdings which is a Japanese brokerage house has recorded a steep loss for the first quarter of 2021. Nomura had also booked a loss in the previous financial year amidst the Covid pandemic. Let’s look at the reason given by Nomura holdings regarding the loss and the further steps taken by the company.

    About Nomura Holdings
    Reason and Amount of loss
    Past of Archegos Capital Management
    Strategy of Nomura Holdings
    Further Steps
    Risk Management
    FAQ

    About Nomura Holdings

    Nomura Holdings is a Japanese-based financial holding company that is one of the most important members of Nomura Group. The company was established in the year 1925 and has its headquarters located in Tokyo, Japan.

    The company is part of the financial services, consulting and financial management industry. They provide their services to individuals, institutions and government customers on a global basis.

    Some of the services provided by Nomura Holdings are Financial Services, Security Services, Retail Banking, Investment Management, Asset Banking and Asset Management.

    Reason and Amount of loss

    On 27 April 2021, Nomura Holdings has said that its losses from the collapse of a U.S investor Archegos Capital Management would amount up to USD 2.87 billion. This has put the Japanese-based Nomura Holdings under a steep loss.

    In the first quarterly report, the company has recorded a loss of 245.7 billion yen which is related to the transaction with Archegos Capital Management. In relation to the same transaction, the company said that it will further book a loss of up to 62 billion yen in the current fiscal year.

    In the first quarter, the overall loss booked by Nomura Holdings was around 155 billion yen (Around USD 1.4 billion). This is considered to be the first quarterly loss of Nomura Holdings in a year.

    Reasons Why Citibank is leaving Indian consumer banking market
    Citi Bank had recently announced that it will exit retail banking operations inIndia and 12 other countries. The other countries include Australia, Indonesia,Korea, Bahrain, Malaysia, Philippines, Poland, Taiwan, Russia, Thailand andVietnam. Citi bank is one of the largest foreign banks in India.…
    StartupTalkyAlan Joseph

    Past of Archegos Capital Management

    Nomura Holdings was one of the string of banks that were exposed to Archegos which is a New York-based investment company and family office which is run by Bill Hwang.

    On 29 March 2021, Nomura holdings had already warned about the loss of around USD 2 billion which would arise from the transaction of the U.S client. Earlier Credit Suisse has also faced losses worth billions of dollars in regards to the transactions with Archegos.

    Even the rival bank Swiss Bank UBS said on 27 April 2021 that it had lost an amount of up to USD 774 million from the trades which were linked to the same company. The quarterly loss of Nomura Holdings had increased to USD 2.3 billion as there was a decline in the value of the collateral.

    As of 23 April 2021, the company has disposed of 97 % of the positions that are related to Archegos. The loss has occurred at Nomura’s prime brokerage unit through a business dealing with family offices and hedge funds.

    Strategy of Nomura Holdings

    Nomura Holdings has said that the company has reviewed all its positions in the units as well as the loans provided to the investors. The review has not shown any transactions which are problematic compared to Archegos.

    The company said that it would focus on strengthening its framework in regards to the management of its risk by working together with the experts in the industry outside the company.

    The CFO of the company Takumi Kitamura has said that this loss wouldn’t change the focus of the company on developing a business platform globally and doing business with the wealthy and risky investors.

    He added that there wouldn’t be any change in their strategy of doing business especially with the overseas business that includes the trading business as well.

    4 Biggest Banking Blunders of All Time Which Will Surprise You
    Banks are the place where individuals park their money. Bank’s indicate thatyour life’s savings are secure in their lockers or vaults. But as everything isgetting digital, today banks deal with data and most of the transactions areonline with just a click of few buttons and these automations and …
    StartupTalkyAlan Joseph

    Further Steps

    The CEO of Nomura Holdings, Kentaro Okuda had expressed a deep regret in regards to the huge loss faced by the company saying that otherwise, it would have been a great year for Nomura Holdings. He has promised that it wouldn’t be repeated.

    He added on saying that they have created a lot of anxiety for their customers and shareholders and said that they will take the issue very seriously and make sure that such as situation will not repeat in the future by upgrading their risk management.

    Okuda said that his responsibility is to create a platform to manage risk in a better way. The huge loss was recorded after Okuda finished his first year as CEO of the company. He was formerly the head of Nomura’s U.S operations.

    Risk Management

    In order to strengthen the risk management, the company has appointed a new CEO who was the former senior of J.P Morgan. The company stated Christopher Willcox was the new co-CEO and President of Nomura Securities International.

    Willcox has worked with J.P Morgan and is a former CEO of J.P Morgan Asset Management. He has also worked with the Citi group for a term of 15 years.

    FAQ

    Is Nomura a Japanese bank?

    Nomura is a Japanese financial holding company and a principal member of the Nomura Group.

    What are the big 4 investment banks?

    JPMorgan Chase, Goldman Sachs, BofA Securities and Morgan Stanley are the big 4 investment banks.

    What is the meaning of margin call?

    A margin call is usually an indicator that one or more of the securities held in the margin account has decreased in value. When a margin call occurs, the investor must choose to either deposit more money in the account or sell some of the assets held in their account.

    Conclusion

    The company has decided to focus on providing prime brokerage services to wealthy investors and to continue to do business with family offices. Kitamura added on saying that Family offices will continue to be one of the most important clients for them.

  • How did Vodafone Idea lost 2.3 million Subscribers

    A report published by TRAI in January 2021, earlier said that the Telecom company Vi had added more subscribers to their user base but the most recent news suggests that the company has lost around 2.3 million users in their user base. Let’s look at the reasons for the changes in data.

    Vodafone Idea
    Reason for Subscriber Loss
    Corrected Figures by TRAI
    Speed Reported by TRAI
    FAQ

    Vodafone Idea

    Vodafone Idea Limited is a merged entity. It is an Indian telecommunication company with its headquarters in Mumbai and Gandhinagar. The company is the third largest mobile telecommunication network in India and is the sixth largest mobile telecommunications network in the world.

    In the year 2018 Vodafone India and Idea cellular underwent a merger and the company was called as Vodafone Idea Limited. Currently, Vodafone holds a 45.1% stake in the company and Ravinder Takkar is the current CEO of the company.

    In September 2020 the company had formed a new brand called as Vi. This is a combined brand of the two entities Vodafone India and Idea Cellular. The aim was to build a unified brand from two different companies.

    After the merger in August 2020 Vi had lost a significant number of gross and active subscribers. Vodafone and Idea operated as two different entities until September 2020.

    Vi also provides services such as IoT, Mobile payments, entertainment, and enterprise offerings. The services are accessible through both digital mediums and retail outlets across the country. Vi has a distribution reach of 1.7 million retail outlets and a broadband network of 340,000 sites.

    In the mobile network services, Vi offers 2G, 4G, 4G+, VoLTE, and VoWiFi services across Pan India. Vi provides Wi-Fi and hotspot services in major cities across the country which include Bangalore, Mumbai, and Pune with more than 200 locations.

    Telecom Market Share India
    Telecom Market Share India

    Overview of Telecommunications Fraud Management System and protection from it
    In the modern age, phone systems are interconnected with the computer networkbut often overlooked as a vulnerability. Fraudsters can invade the privacy ofphone systems through the customer’s network or the telecommunications service provider. The moment they gain access, they manipulate the phone…
    StartupTalkyVibhavari Madki

    Reason for Subscriber Loss

    According to reports in January, Vi had added a user base of around 1.7 million in January 2021 and this was the first time in the last 15 months the company has added subscribers to its user base. Also its competitors, Bharti Airtel added a user base of 5.9 million subscribers and Jio which added about 1.95 million subscribers during January 2021.

    According to the report of the Telecom Authority of India (TRAI) in January 2021, Vi had an active user base of 256.3 million which is 89.63 percent of their total users.

    Revised Data by TRAI

    Recently the Telecom Authority of India (TRAI) released a revised telecom subscription data for January 2021. The revised Telecom subscription data showed that the company Vi had actually lost 2.3 million subscribers than gaining 1.7 million in January 2021.

    The company Vodafone Idea has acknowledged earlier about its error in the numbers provided to Telecom Authority of India (TRAI) that the company had added 1.7 million subscribers in the month of January 2021.

    TRAI had examined through the numbers and identified that it was a non-intentional error that was not done through a deliberate planning. TRAI confirmed that the error had taken place by mistake.

    Vi had told the TRAI that it had added a user base of around 3.7 million from Uttar Pradesh west telecom circle alone. There is a total of 22 telecom circles in India and the company has reported that it lost subscribers in 18 telecom circles and gained subscribers in the rest of 4 telecom circles.

    Vi had sent the correct numbers to TRAI. Vi had noted on its website saying that they had found an unintentional error on their subscriber data for January 2021 which was submitted to TRAI. They also said that they had corrected the error and had reported the revised data to the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI).

    Corrected Figures by TRAI

    As per the corrected figures of the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India Vi had lost 2.3 million wireless users in the month of January 2021. Whereas its competitors Airtel gained 5.9 million subscribers and Reliance Jio had gained 2 million subscribers.

    Reliance Jio had the highest wireless subscriber numbers with a base of 410.7 million and Airtel in the second position with a subscriber number base of 344.6 million. Vi had taken the third position with a total subscriber number of 281.9 million.

    How Jio is Leading the 5G Race in India [Case Study]
    The 5G era is proving to be a game-changer for the Indian telecom industry. Thesecond most populous country in the world is India with a total of 1.2 billioninternet users. Indian telecom companies are constantly on the lookout for newinnovative ways to boost the growth of digital medium and the …
    StartupTalkyBharathJinda

    Speed Reported by TRAI

    The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India had reported that Vi had the highest upload speed in the month of February 2021. Vodafone India’s upload speed for the month of February 2021 was 7.2 Mbps which was 6.7 in January 2021.

    Idea Cellular upload speed for the month of February 2021 was 6.4 Mbps which was around 6 Mpbs in January 2021. Vodafone India and Idea Cellular was also ranked as the best in the TRAI’s report for voice call quality charts of February 2021.

    The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) considers the company as two separate entities in its portals for My Calls and MySpeed even after the merger of both Vodafone India and Idea Cellular.

    FAQ

    Will Idea Vodafone survive?

    Rohan Oza, an american businessman and investor believes that Vodafone will survive. “It is unlikely that the company will go bust, as it is in the interest of the government to continue with three players in the market.

    What is the future of Vodafone idea?

    As reporyed by Goldman sachs, Vodafone Idea could potentially save ₹58 billion (5,800 crore) in cash flows annually if the AGR liability were lowered to its self-assessed value.

    Is Vodafone shutting down in India?

    Vodafone Idea, India’s third-largest service provider, plans to shut down its 3G network later in 2021.

    Conclusion

    Vi has been rolling out various strategies and campaigns to capture the market to increase its subscriber base. We will have to wait and see what is going to happen in the future regarding the increase or decrease of Vi’s subscriber base.

  • Mark zuckerberg lost over $7 Billion After Brands Boycott Ads on Facebook

    Mark Zuckerberg has lost over $7.2 billion after major firms pulled advertising from Facebook Inc.’s network and the current net worth of Zuckerberg is $79.7B.

    Shares of Facebook fell 8.3%, the most in three months, after Unilever, one of the world’s largest advertisers, joined other brands in boycotting ads on the social media network.

    Facebook stocks Drop down to 8.3% 

    Also read: Tech Giants, Facebook,Instagram, and Twitter reacts to George Floyd Protest

    This has affected the market value of Facebook and has eliminated $56 billion from its market value and drove Zuckerberg’s net worth down to $82.3 billion according to Bloomberg. This has bought down mark Zuckerberg to the 4th richest person overtaken by the chief executive of Louis Vuitton Bernard Arnault who is now the third richest person in the world.

    Major brands from Verizon to Hershey’s have stopped social media ads on Facebook after critics expressed that Facebook has failed to sufficiently monitor hate speech and disinformation on the platform.

    Also read: Facebook Invests $5.7 billion in Jio Platforms for 9.99% Stake

    Top Brands Boycotting Facebook Ads over Hate Speech

    Unilever, $42.4 million in advertising

    Uniliver One of the biggest advertisers in the world said it would stop running ads on Facebook, Instagram, or Twitter in the United States for at least the rest of 2020.

    Coca-Cola, $22.1 million

    Coca-cola announced that it would stop all paid ads on all social media platforms globally for at least 30 days. A Coca-Cola spokeswoman said that “The company was not joining the official Facebook boycott”.

    Verizon, $22.9 million

    The chief media officer of the telecommunications company said that it was “ it is pausing our advertising until Facebook can create an acceptable solution that makes us comfortable and is consistent with what we’ve done with YouTube and other partners.” Verizon has stopped both paid and unpaid ads on Facebook.

    Honda America, $6 million in advertising

    The automaker decided that it will withhold ads from Facebook and Instagram for the month of July to stand with people united against hate and racism.

    Levi Strauss & Co., $2.8 million

    the chief marketing officer of Levi Strauss Jen Sey has criticized Facebook for its failure to stop the spread of misinformation and hate speech on its platform. Sey also wrote that Levi Strauss would suspend advertising at least through the end of July.

    After this increasing criticism, Facebook revised its policies announcing that the company would label all voting-related posts with a link encouraging users to look at its new voter information hub. Facebook also expanded its definition of prohibited hate speech, adding a clause saying no adverts will be allowed if they label another demographic as dangerous.