Taiwan's Ahamani inks JV with Renon India for lithium batteries

Taiwanese electric vehicle (EV) giant Ahamani EV Tech has inked a joint venture (JV) with Renon India to manufacture battery packs for India as well as international automobile markets. The two companies will jointly investment $3.7 million to build customised battery packs.

A battery factory in Surat, Gujarat is being developed with an initial capacity of 200 megawatt hour (Mwh) per annum. Over the next few years this capacity will be expanded further to 1GWh.

According to T C Kung, chief executive officer, Ahamani, their company has been developing battery packs since two decades for various EV applications. "We see this as a right time to position our heavy-duty battery packs for the Indian market. Indian automobile market is evolving very fast and opening up doors for more innovation and reliable products and we are highly committed to prime minister Narendra Modi’s 'Make in India' program,” said Kung.

This JV with Gujarat-based Renon India will produce higher lifecycle battery packs targeting automakers who are aggressively expanding the EV market. As consumer needs for EVs evolve automakers are working to address energy and climate change related issues that has created huge demand for lithium batteries.

Vineet Mittal, director, Renon India, said, this is their group company's third venture in sustainable business. “We see two and three wheelers to be the first ones to transform to electric and this creates a lot of opportunity for us,” he said.

The initial offerings of the company would include LFP (Lithium Ferrous Phosphate) and NMC battery packs for two- and three-wheeler EVs, which will be customised as per the industry requirements, said Ankit Kumar, director and chief of strategy, Ahamani.

Apart from offering advanced technology, the joint venture will also look to tackle numerous battery-related challenges including cost, energy density, lifecycle, charging time and safety, thereby ensuring stable supply capacity as well as effective recycling structures.

(The writer is an Independent Business Journalist and can be reached at ashishktiwari.1976@gmail.com)

Jungle Ventures picks stake in BookMyShow's Southeast Asia business

Singapore-based Jungle Ventures has picked up a stake in BookMyShow SEA, which is owned and operated by Bigtree Entertainment Singapore Pte Ltd (BESPL). While investment details were not disclosed, BookMyShow said, it is their first ever external funding for the Southeast Asia business.

David Gowdey

David Gowdey, managing partner, Jungle Ventures, said, "Entertainment experiences, particularly live events, are witnessing a strong growth in SEA and with a world-class team helming its SEA business, BookMyShow will help people find, buy and enjoy events across the region. The platform is poised to become the largest entertainment destination in the region and Jungle Ventures is excited to be a part of this story."

Post this deal, BookMyShow SEA wil shift its headquarters to Singapore for further expansion. The money raised will be deployed to strengthen its technology operations as well as enhancing capabilities to meet increasing demand for entertainment in the Southeast Asian region.

Kenneth Tan, chief executive officer – South East Asia, BookMyShow, said, onboarding Jungle Ventures will help enhance foothold in Southeast Asia and provide entertainment experiences to the audiences in this region.

"The out-of-home entertainment ecosystem in Southeast Asia has immense growth potential and this partnership is a testament to our vision. BookMyShow is at the forefront of the global entertainment landscape and technological innovation and along with an experienced investor in Jungle Ventures by our side, we aim to strengthen our capabilities to bring newer avenues of experiences, all executed at par with global standards,” he said.

BookMyShow entered Indonesia in mid-2016 expanding operations to other countries in the region including Singapore and Malaysia this year. The company has been focussing on creating and building the movies and live entertainment ecosystem across the region.

It also entered into a partnership with Southeast Asia’s leading super app, Grab, in 2019 to advance Grab’s ‘Super App’ strategy through the ticketing tile within the latter’s mobile app. The partnership has been a key driver in BookMyShow SEA’s localisation strategy to entrench itself deeply in the region’s entertainment ecosystem.

The company's Southeast Asia business works with partners to execute live event performances across music, sport and comedy as also distribute movies across the region. The company has played an important role in enabling shows and performances of marquee internationally acclaimed artists and events in the region.
(The writer is a Mumbai-based independent business journalist and has extensively covered diversified consumer businesses over the last two decades. He can be reached at hello@ashishktiwari.com)