Amazon-Ambani spat tests India’s allure for foreign investors

The tussle between two of the world’s richest men — Jeff Bezos and Mukesh Ambani — to dominate India’s estimated $1 trillion retail market is testing foreign investor patience with flip-flopping court rulings.

This week saw new developments in Amazon.com Inc.’s legal battle to block Ambani’s Reliance Industries Ltd. from acquiring Future Retail Ltd.’s assets, in what would be the country’s largest retail-sector deal. Last week, a single judge at a high court in New Delhi restrained Future Group firms from selling their assets. On Monday, a set of judges at the court overruled that decision. Amazon can appeal the latest ruling in the country’s Supreme Court.

The keenly watched case may set an important legal precedent for investors on whether emergency decisions by foreign arbitrators are valid in India. Amazon had petitioned Indian courts with an order from an emergency arbitration court in Singapore that barred Future Retail from making a deal with Reliance.