E-commerce giant Amazon has invested another Rs 2,900 crore in its India unit, almost doubling its overall capital to Rs 31,000 crore, the Financial Express reported on Wednesday. With this, the firm has invested Rs 17,840 crore in India in the current financial year itself, almost double of Indian e-commerce company Flipkart’s investment of Rs 8,349 crore.
In a statement to Mint, a spokesperson for Amazon India said that the company has “a long-term commitment to make e-commerce a habit for Indian customers” and will keep investing “in the necessary technology and infrastructure to grow the entire ecosystem”. In 2016, Amazon’s Chief Executive Officer Jeff Bezos had committed to invest $5 billion (Rs 32,000 crore) in an effort to expand its business in India, Mint reported.
Amazon’s move is likely to set the stage for an high-stakes war against Flipkart, which reportedly conducted more business during the festive season. Amazon incurred a loss of Rs 6,113 crore in its international markets between July and September, Business Today reported. It was mostly due to its marketing campaign in India.
However, the company’s Chief Financial Officer Brian T Olsavsky said that the losses were tempered by the benefits that the company accrued. “We launched Prime there a year ago if you remember, and we have had more Prime members join in India than in any other country in the first 12 months,” he was quoted as saying.
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