Amazon plans to make an additional investment of $15 billion in India, more than doubling the $11 billion it has already spent in the country.
The investment marks a commitment from the US e-commerce giant to the growing market in India, Amazon chief executive Andy Jassy said.
Jassy revealed the news on Friday, following the Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to the United States.
“Productive meeting with Prime Minister Narendra Modi,” he said in a tweet. “Discussed Amazon’s commitment to invest $26B in India by 2030.”
Productive meeting with Prime Minister @NarendraModi. Discussed Amazon’s commitment to invest $26B in India by 2030; working together we will support startups, create jobs, enable exports, and empower individuals and small businesses to compete globally. pic.twitter.com/yEgy0TVqpK
— Andy Jassy (@ajassy) June 23, 2023
Jassy also confirmed that Amazon’s AWS cloud service will receive the majority of the funding for expansion in India. Currently, this is expected to cost around $12.7 billion by 2030.
India continues to be a vital overseas market for Amazon, although it has closed down its lending business in the country over recent months.
According to a 2022 report from Statista, India was Amazon Business’s second-largest market, with almost 665,000 app downloads.
In fact, given the high demand for this app in India, Amazon has developed a separate app called “Amazon Business – India.” All other markets are served by the standard international app, “Amazon Business.”
The US continues to be the largest market for Amazon, with nearly 1.2 million downloads on all kinds of mobile devices last year.
Moreover, Amazon Business is a popular business-to-business (B2B) marketplace in India.
Approximately 70% of B2B buyers used the platform in India, while South Africa followed with 47%, according to data by Statista.
United Arab Emirates ranked third, with 46% of B2B buyers shopping on Amazon Business.
More Companies Pledge Investments in India
Amazon is not alone in its investment in India, with other firms also pledging to contribute to the South Asian market.
For one, the firm’s global rival, Walmart, has invested over $2.5 billion in India this year.
Likewise, Google has announced that it will be opening a global fintech operation in GIFT city in the Gujarat state of India.
It has also been reported that Micron will invest up to $825 million in its first DRAM and NAND assembly and testing facility in India, while Applied Materials will invest $400 million in a new engineering center over the next four years.
Apple CEO Tim Cook said last week that the world’s most valuable publicly traded company sees India as a “huge opportunity.”
The tech giant also aims to bring its payment service, Apple Pay, to the hands of billions of users in South East Asia, with India being the first target in the region.
Apple will soon launch Apple Pay in India to take on GPay.
— News Arena India (@NewsArenaIndia) June 24, 2023
Tesla chief executive Elon Musk has also revealed that the firm is looking to invest in India and bring the electric carmaker to the country “as soon as humanly possible.”
Musk said he had a “very good” conversation with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday and is hopeful that they will be able to “announce something in the not too distant future.”
“India has more promise than any large country in the world. He really cares about India because he’s pushing us to make significant investments in India, which is something we intend to do. We are just trying to figure out the right timing,” the tech tycoon said.
US and India Announce Defense and Technology Deals
During Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s state visit to the White House, the leaders of the United States and India announced defense and technology deals.
The two leaders revealed that India committed to buying armed MQ-9B SeaGuardian drones and memory chipmaker Micron would open a $2.75bn semiconductor assembly and test facility in India, which includes $800mn in investment from the US company.
Furthermore, Joe Biden and Modi signed an agreement that General Electric will co-produce fighter jet engines in India, which is described as a “trailblazing initiative” by the Biden administration.
The agreements mark a push by the US to draw India into its orbit as part of a strategy to work with allies and partners to counter China.
US officials stated that the clashes between India and China along their nearly 3,500km border have made India more willing to partner with the US, according to a report by the Financial Times.
A US defense official said the security deals announced during the visit will boost interoperability between the two militaries.
Furthermore, the US and India are working more closely on maritime and other contingencies and plan to extend their cooperation not just to the Indian Ocean but also to the Pacific Ocean in the future.
The agreements signed between the US and India, which also include efforts to boost cooperation in space, highlight the countries’ efforts to strengthen ties in a bipartisan context, which is deeper and more expansive than ever.
“After years of strengthening ties in a bipartisan context, the US-India partnership is deeper and more expansive than . . . ever,” a senior US official reportedly said.
Biden has invested in boosting defense and security cooperation with New Delhi since taking office, including resurrecting the “Quad” security group that includes India, Japan, and Australia.
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