Aditya Kalra and Aftab Ahmed, Anirban S.

NEW DELHI (Reuters] – Flipkart (NYSE: Walmart) has increased its IPO valuation target internally to between $60-70 billion and plans to have a U.S. listed in 2023 rather than this year. Two sources familiar with the matter told Reuters that Flipkart is now planning to do so.

Reuters reported that Flipkart competes in India’s e-commerce market with Amazon.com Inc. (NASDAQ:).

Flipkart’s plan internally to increase valuations by focusing on two relatively new businesses, online travel bookings and healthcare services — is the main reason why we are still waiting to get an IPO.

According to two sources, Flipkart was forced by global market turmoil caused by Russia-Ukraine crises to rethink its plans.

Flipkart bought Cleartrip, an Indian travel website in 2021. This week Flipkart launched the “Health+” app which offers medicines and other health products.

Flipkart sees even greater upside in valuation than initially thought. According to the source, “The travel industry has already begun showing remarkable signs for them,” he said.

Sources claimed that the target IPO valuation was as high at $70 billion. However, second sources said it might be $60-60 billion.

Flipkart has not responded to my request for comment.

Walmart CFO Brett Biggs, when asked by analysts about the IPO timeline, stated at a December conference that Flipkart had been performing “almost exactly as we thought”, and that an “IPO was still very much in our plans”. He did not specify when the company would list.

According to reports, the listing is planned for mid-2023. They added that Flipkart has been incorporated in Singapore and plans to list in America.

The IPO plans are being made amid protests from Indian brick and mortar stores that Flipkart, Amazon and others bypass federal regulations. They also claim to favour certain sellers. This is an allegation the companies refute. India also works on several e-commerce regulations which could be a problem for foreign companies.

Walmart bought a 77% share in Flipkart in 2018, for $16 billion. This was the largest deal Walmart has ever made. Later that year, it stated that Flipkart could be taken public within four years.

Flipkart was valued at $37.6 Billion by a recent funding round of $3.6 billion.

This fund raising has helped to strengthen the company’s financial position. It also had sufficient cash now for expansion. According to one source, an IPO was not necessary at this point.

India’s IPO markets have slowed down after booming as enthusiastic retail investors drove prices to record heights. A pandemic-induced flood with easy money pushed the market to record levels, encouraging a slew Indian tech companies to go public like Zomato and Paytm.

In 2021, more than 60 Indian companies launched in India and raised more than $13.7 million. This was higher than all three previous years.