Amazon To Invest a Further $3 Billion in India Operations
Amazon Inc. are hell bent on emerging as the pre-eminent online retail operator in India, the world's second most populous nation and in order to achieve that, the company recently announced that they are going to invest a further $3 billion in their India operations. The CEO of Amazon, Jeff Bezos announced the latest commitment at the India-US Business Council Leadership Summit that was held at Washington DC and with the latest announcement, it takes Amazon's total investment in their India operations to a staggering $5 billion. The summit was also attended by Narendra Modi, the Prime Minister of India who is in the United States on a diplomatic visit. Bezos said, "I can assure you it's only the beginning and as we say in Amazon, it's only day one,"
Bloomberg published an article in which it pointed out the reasons behind the investment, "Amazon has targeted India for international growth after pulling back from China due to fierce competition from that country's e-commerce giant Alibaba Group Holding Ltd. In addition to seeking new customers, Amazon is also looking in India for new inventory to sell globally. Amazon, which gets most of its international revenue from the U.K., Japan and Germany, doesn't break out sales from India. Revenue from a group of other international markets, including India, reached $7.4 billion in 2015, or 6.9 percent of total sales."
Amazon is currently engaged in a battle with Indian online retail giant Flipkart and Snapdeal, both of whom have had a headstart over the Jeff Bezos promoted company. However, the rapid investment from Amazon means that they are making every effort possible to emerge the biggest operator in the country. Colin Sebastian, an analyst told Bloomberg, "The added investment reflects the success to-date of Amazon in India, as well as a bright outlook for the e-commerce market in the region. It's really down to a two or maybe three-horse race, and Amazon clearly would like to be the winner."
