Amazon pumps in Rs 1,680 crore more in India unit, crosses $2 billion investment mark

This is a part of Amazon’s commitment to invest $5 billion in India to expand its local business.
Amazon pumps in Rs 1,680 crore more in India unit, crosses $2 billion investment mark
Amazon pumps in Rs 1,680 crore more in India unit, crosses $2 billion investment mark
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As Flipkart finalizes the sale with Snapdeal to become the country’s largest ecommerce player, world’s largest ecommerce player Amazon continues to pump in investments into India to strengthen its position here.

According to a Mint report, Amazon has invested another Rs 1,680 crore in its Indian unit. This takes the company’s investment in India to over $ 2 billion, which is a part of its commitment to invest $5 billion in India to expand its local business.

In June 2016, Amazon committed an additional of $3 billion investment in India after it committed $2 billion in 2014.

According to regulatory documents filed with the ministry of corporate affairs, Amazon Seller Services (Amazon India) received these funds last month.

From the time Amazon chief executive Jeff Bezos made that initial $2 billion investment commitment in July 2014, Amazon India has already received more than Rs15,000 crore ($2.31 billion).

Mint reported last April that Amazon India, which was launched in June 2013, had doubled its authorized capital to roughly about Rs16,000 crore. Since then, Amazon has invested twice in its Indian marketplace—a Rs2,010 crore infusion in December last year and the latest in June.

Investments have been made into building warehouses, logistics units, aggressive marketing, discounts and increasing product variety, which according to the company is the largest in India.

“We remain committed to our India business with a long-term perspective to make e-commerce a habit for Indian customers and to invest in the necessary technology and infrastructure to grow the entire ecosystem,” an Amazon India spokeswoman told Mint.

The ecommerce race, which at one point had three to four players, has now come down to a fierce battle between Flipkart and Amazon.

Earlier in April this year, rival Flipkart raised $1.4 billion in fresh capital from new strategic investors comprising China’s Tencent Holdings, eBay and Microsoft. It has so far raised over $4.6 billion since it began operations in 2007.

It is currently in the process of buying another rival Snapdeal, a deal orchestrated by Snapdeal’s largest investor SoftBank.

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