[MUMBAI] India's top e-commerce company Flipkart is holding talks with investors to raise up to US$1 billion in one of its biggest funding rounds so far, a source familiar with developments said on Wednesday.

The source declined to name the potential investors and the exact valuation Flipkart was looking for, but said it hoped the valuation would be in the "double digits", referring to a valuation of US$10 billion or more.

Earlier on Wednesday, The Financial Express, citing unidentified sources, said the expected fundraising could value Flipkart at up to US$8 billion, far lower than the roughly US$15 billion in its last funding round.

A Flipkart spokesman was not immediately available for comment.

Flipkart's latest fundraising comes amid intensifying competition in the e-commerce space from the likes of US internet giant Amazon.com Inc and domestic rival Snapdeal, which is backed by Japan's Softbank Group.

The ensuing heavy losses have hit valuations among India's e-commerce players. Some funds that have invested in Flipkart have recently slashed the value of their holdings, media reports have said, citing securities filings.

Launched by two former Amazon employees in 2007, Flipkart's biggest investor is US hedge fund Tiger Global. Others include Accel Partners, DST Global and Baillie Gifford.

The company has so far raised more than US$3 billion in funding, mostly from international investors.

REUTERS