Singapore sees the beginning of arbitration proceedingsbetween Reliance and Amazon over Future Group.
Former Attorney General of Singapore, V.K. Rajah concludedthe arbitration hearing on Friday, October 16 and will deliver his ruling on orbefore Monday, October 26, sources said.
Rajah, former Attorney General of Singapore, is the solearbitrator in the Amazon vs. Future vs. Reliance arbitration matter.
Harish Salve appeared for the Future Retail (being acquiredby RIL) while Singapore-based lawyer Davinder Singh appeared on behalf ofFuture Coupons Pvt Ltd. (FCPL), the holding company of Kishore Biyani.
Gopal Subramanium, former Solicitor General of India,appeared for Amazon.
The hearing is said to have lasted for five hours. Thearbitrator V K Rajah said that he would deliver his judgment on or beforeMonday.
When contacted, an Amazon spokesperson said, 'We cannotcomment as the matter is subjudice'.
Amazon had invested in an unlisted firm of Future Group. TheFuture Group had to be sold because the losses were mounting and becominguntenable. Reliance bought the Future Group to which Amazon claims is a breachof contract between Amazon and Future Group.
Analysts see this as a war between the world's richest manJeff Bezos, having a net worth of $ 204.6 billion and India's richest man,Mukesh Ambani with a (net worth of $ 88.4 billion) for control over India'sretail sector.
Behind this entire legal tussle is the fight forIndia’s offline retail market.