Brief: Amazon invests more in its Indian marketplace, twice as much as Flipkart so far

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The news (extracted from Economic Times):

• Amazon has invested US$444 million in Amazon Seller Services – its ecommerce marketplace in India. With this fresh capital injection, the total investment in Amazon Seller Services stands at US$2.6 billion.
• “As India’s largest and fastest growing ecommerce player, and with a long-term commitment to make ecommerce a habit for Indian customers, we continue to invest in the necessary technology and infrastructure to grow the entire ecosystem,” Amazon India spokesperson said in a statement shared with Tech in Asia.
• Jeff Bezos committed US$5 billion to Amazon India last year.

Why it matters:

• Amazon has been building up rapidly in India with localized strategies, investing heavily in infrastructure, logistics, and customer experience. The latest investment will give it more teeth in its battle with Indian rival Flipkart.
• Flipkart has invested US$1.3 billion in its marketplace so far, half of what Amazon has invested.
• But Flipkart has had two mega funding rounds earlier this year from investors including SoftBank, Tencent, and Microsoft. It has over US$4 billion in its balance sheet, yet to be deployed.