Amazon announces additional US $2 Billion investment in India

A day after India’s e-tailer Flipkart attracted $1 billion of fresh funds; Amazon.com Inc has said it will invest a further $2 billion in India to support its rapid growth and continue to enhance the customer and seller experience in India. Both these moves have upped the stakes in a nascent but fast-growing e-commerce sector in the country.

Since its launch just over a year ago, Amazon’s marketplace (www.amazon.in) has grown to be India’s largest store with over 17 million products from a continually growing base of thousands of small and medium-sized businesses, serving millions of customers across India.

"After our first year in business, the response from customers and small and medium-sized businesses in India has far surpassed our expectations," said Jeff Bezos, founder and CEO of Amazon.com. "We see huge potential in the Indian economy and for the growth of e-commerce in India. With this additional investment of US $2 billion, our team can continue to think big, innovate, and raise the bar for customers in India. At current scale and growth rates, India is on track to be our fastest country ever to a billion dollars in gross sales. A big ‘thank you’ to our customers in India – we’ve never seen anything like this."

Amazon, which opened its Indian website in June last year, has drawn up the battle lines by slashing prices, launching same-day delivery, adding new product categories and embarking on a high-voltage advertisement campaign.