Amazon pumps in Rs 2010 crore capital in India unit

By

Maverick Martins

Published
Dec 20, 2016

Seattle-based online marketplace Amazon has invested Rs 2,010 crore in its India unit in its quest to be the undisputed market leader in the fast growing Indian market.

This is the single largest capital infusion made by Amazon so far as it looks to take on leading players like Flipkart and others in the e-commerce market space.

This latest investment, made in November, takes the total capital invested in Amazon Seller Services to over Rs 7,000 crore in the last 12 months, according to regulatory filings.

Amazon has been going all out to be the 'numero uno' in the Indian market and is estimated to have lost over Rs 1,000 crore to woo Indian customers with special offers and discounts in the festive season in October, according to two people aware of the details.

“It is losing about Rs 600 crore every month (non-sale months),” said the one of the sources to the Economic Times, who believes the US company will burn up nearly a $1 billion this year in India as it races to outpace its Indian rivals.

“We will invest what it takes to become the customers’ preferred choice in India, and are encouraged that we are India’s largest and fastest-growing e-commerce marketplace,” said an Amazon India spokeswoman.

“In an industry reportedly flat or negative, Amazon India has continued to show remarkable growth of over 100% this year,” the spokeswoman added.

The capital infusion by Amazon is the first since the Indian government announced new norms for online retail in April, and also the first after Bezos increased capital commitment to India from $2 billion to $5 billion in June.