International online retailer, Amazon, has invested an added Rs 1,680 crore in its Indian operations in a bid to strengthen its presence against its local rival, Flipkart. Amazon Seller Services Pvt Ltd (Amazon India) received the funds last month, the company said in regulatory documents filed with the Ministry of Corporate Affairs, Mint reported on Thursday.
“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 spokesperson said.
In June 2016, the e-commerce platform had vowed to infuse an added $3 billion (approximately Rs 19,429 crore) in its Indian unit. This announcement followed the July 2014 declaration made by Amazon’s Chief Executive Officer Jeff Bezos to invest $2 billion (approximately Rs 13,305 crore) in the Indian market to build warehouses, a large logistics unit, marketing, discounts and increasing product assortment.
In April 2016, Mint had reported that the company’s India unit had doubled its authorised capital to almost Rs 16,000 crore.
Flipkart, the overall market leader, has been working hard to keep the American firm at bay. The Indian company had raised $1.4 billion (approximately Rs 9,313 crore) in fresh capital from new investors including China’s Tencent Holdings, eBay and Microsoft. The company also plans to buy its smaller rival Snapdeal. SoftBank, which is Snapdeal’s biggest investor, has been mediating the deal with Flipkart.
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