- Walmart Inc (NYSE:WMT) backed Indian fintech firm PhonePe is preparing to launch a dedicated app store for Android users in India.
- The app store, designed to offer hyper-localized services based on customer context, aims to assist developers with “high-quality” user acquisition through multilingual solutions, TechCrunch cites internal documents.
- The app store will offer a “premiere experience for millions of users with high-quality advertisements and custom targeting,” support for 12 languages, and 24×7 live chat.
- PhonePe commands the mobile payments market in the second-largest Asian economy.
- The move follows the 2022 acquisition of IndusOS, an app store maker that served customers through partnerships with smartphone vendors.
- PhonePe, which competes aggressively with Alphabet Inc (NASDAQ:GOOG) (NASDAQ:GOOGL) Google’s Google Pay app in India, plans to intensify its engagement with smartphone vendors, including firms including Xiaomi Corp (OTC: XIACF) (OTC: XIACY).
- A PhonePe spokesperson said that Google commands 97% of the Indian app store market, and there’s an opportunity for someone like PhonePe, which has amassed over 450 million registered users in the country, to build an alternative app store.
- The timing is also “favorable for us,” the firm said, pointing to a recent order from the Indian antitrust watchdog Competition Commission of India that paves the way for other developers to build and launch their app stores on Google Play.
- PhonePe confirmed that it’s holding multiple conversations with phone makers in India and said, “everyone is very receptive, especially since CCI has clarified that Google cannot engage in anti-competitive practices.”
- Price Action: WMT shares traded higher by 0.33% at $152.23 premarket on the last check Monday.
Citigroup Maintains Neutral on Agilent Technologies, Raises Price Target to $145
Citigroup analyst Patrick Donnelly maintains Agilent Technologies (NYSE:A) with a Neutral and raises the price target from $140 to $145.
