On Swiggy’s plate: 10,000 crore through QIP

Mumbai: The board of Swiggy on Friday cleared the company’s plan to raise up to Rs 10,000 crore through a qualified institutional placement (QIP), the firm said in an exchange filing. The move follows rival Zepto’s $450 million (close to Rs 4,000 crore) funding which has stoked competition in the growing 10-minute delivery space as more consumers take to quick commerce platforms to shop for household supplies.An additional fundraise, Swiggy had said, will give it access to “sufficient growth capital” while enhancing its strategic flexibility. The quick commerce sector, although expanding rapidly, is still nascent with large part of the growth being driven by the top metros. As companies ramp up their network of dark stores to cater to new pockets of demand, expand beyond metros and add new categories, they will need to make heavy investments into their rapid delivery businesses. Besides, new entrants Flipkart and Amazon are also vying for a share of the market, nudging the bigger players to keep their guards on. Swiggy’s consolidated losses ballooned to Rs 1,092 crore in the Sept quarter.