Amazon's Bezos Pledges New $1 Billion India Investment Amid Pushback
January 15 2020 - 07:33AM
Dow Jones News
By Newley Purnell
NEW DELHI -- Amazon.com Inc. Chief Executive Jeff Bezos pledged
to invest a fresh $1 billion in the company's Indian operations,
part of a charm offensive in a promising but newly challenging
market.
Speaking Wednesday at a gathering in New Delhi for local Amazon
sellers, Mr. Bezos said the money is meant to help more small
businesses start selling on the company's marketplace. The new
funds will be in addition to $5 billion Amazon has said it is
spending to build out its Indian business, a spokeswoman said.
The Indian environment has turned increasingly challenging for
Amazon since it launched in the country in 2013. Hoping to match
China's success at building tech titans, Indian policy makers have
been tightening restrictions on the American companies that have
begun to dominate the country's internet economy.
"We're making this announcement now because it's working," Mr.
Bezos said, referring to Amazon's continuing efforts to get India's
legions of small mom-and-pop shops connected to its platform. "And
when something works, you should double down on it," he said.
Mr. Bezos, dressed in an indigo Nehru jacket, also praised
U.S.-India ties and said he believes the 21st century "is going to
be the Indian century." At the end of his talk he clasped his hands
together and bowed before the crowd to great applause.
On Tuesday, after touching down in New Delhi, Mr. Bezos posted a
video on his Twitter account showing him paying tribute at a
memorial to India's independence leader, Mahatma Gandhi.
India's antitrust watchdog on Monday ordered an investigation
into whether Amazon and Walmart Inc.'s Flipkart have violated
competition laws. Amazon and Flipkart say they are compliant with
local laws. Between them, the two account for more than 80% of
online sales in India, according to Morgan Stanley.
After Walmart sealed its $16 billion acquisition of Flipkart in
2018, India altered its rules dictating how foreign-owned online
retailers -- but not local rivals -- can sell goods online, forcing
Amazon and Walmart to rewire their supply chains.
Regulators have also talked about the need for stricter rules
for storing user data in India and new regulations governing social
media.
Meanwhile, the Confederation of All India Traders, a body that
says it represents millions of online and offline domestic sellers,
has in recent months criticized Amazon for what it calls unfair
practices.
The group said it was holding protests across the country,
angered at Mr. Bezos' visit. Praveen Khandelwal, the
confederation's general secretary, said in a statement that the new
funds would only further hurt retail trade in India.
Amazon says it has helped boost India's online shopping sector
by enabling small merchants and shops to sell online.
Rajesh Roy contributed to this article.
Write to Newley Purnell at newley.purnell@wsj.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
January 15, 2020 07:18 ET (12:18 GMT)
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