In Brief: Amazon, Flipkart may launch sales post lockdown; Odisha allows ecommerce deliveries

E-commerce platforms Flipkart and Amazon may come up with a big sale in May once the lockdown ends, The Economic Times reported. The companies have asked brands to stock up, expecting a resurgence in demand for some non-essential categories including smartphones, laptop, tablet, and vacuum cleaner, among others.

Read: Online shopping dips 16% during lockdown: Wibmo

Odisha allows e-commerce, logistics players to resume deliveries 

Odisha government announced on Monday that it will allow all e-commerce platforms like Flipkart, Amazon, BigBasket, and Zomato, among others, with their third-party logistics partners, to continue delivering during the second phase of the lockdown, The Economic Times reported. Logistics companies like DTDC and BlueDart will also be allowed to operate, the report said. Also, last week Odisha govt. had announced the extension of lockdown until April 30.

Read: Coronavirus India LIVE Updates

OYO executives accused of submitting fake NOCs 

Some executives at budget hospitality chain OYO have been accused of submitting invalid no-objection certificates (NOC) from about 70 hotels to the online travel agency (OTA) Booking.com, The Economic Times reported. Companies like OYO and its rival Treeebo list their properties on OTAs, apart from their own websites and apps. Additionally, OTAs are provided with NOCs from property owners to list any ownership changes. However OTA Booking.com recently found that NOCs provided by OYO on these properties were invalid, the report said.

Read: OYO lays off 360 employees in US amid Covid-19 crisis: Report

HCL announces general availability of Domino Volt

Noida based information technology (IT) services company HCL Technologies announced that HCL Domino Volt, a new low-code capability built on the HCL Domino platform, is now available in the market, according to a statement. With the help of Domino Volt, customers can deploy, manage, and extend the functionality of their apps and deliver them on mobile devices quickly. Domino Volt is powered by Domino, an application development platform.

Another SoftBank bet begins to unravel as OYO freezes operations

SoftBank Group CEO Masayoshi Son’s $2 billion guarantee is likely at risk as budget hospitality chain OYO struggles to survive the Covid-19 pandemic, according to Bloomberg. Last year, OYO founder Ritesh Aggarwal had borrowed $2 billion to buy back company shares and Son had personally guaranteed the amount from financial institutions, including Mizuho Financial Group. The company,  which was valued at $10 billion last year,  has now laid off several employees and has closed operations at most of its locations to cut costs. According to the report, OYO’s problems might lead to troubles at SoftBank as lenders may ask for more collateral if OYO’s valuation drops. SoftBank, which is still reeling from the WeWork fiasco,  owns nearly 50% stake in OYO. 

ShareChat appoints Manohar Charan as VP

Social media platform ShareChat has appointed Manohar Charan as its vice president for corporate development and strategic finance. In the new role, Charan will lead the investor relations, mergers and acquisitions (M&A), strategic finance and legal functions at the company, according to the statement. Prior to ShareChat, Charan served as VP at Zomato.