Online retail giant Amazon is investing $3 billion into its India operations this year, according to founder Jeff Bezos, who was speaking at the U.S.-India Business Council Annual Leadership Summit in Washington, D.C., on Tuesday as a part of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s U.S visit.
The additional money brings the total investment in Amazon India to $5 billion.
In a statement from the council, Bezos said Amazon India, which launched in 2013, “has already created some 45,000 jobs in India and continue[s] to see huge potential in the Indian economy.”
India is home to the most rapidly developing e-commerce market in the world, according to Morgan Stanley, which predicted it would be worth $119 billion by 2020.
Amazon has some stiff competition in India from e-commerce sites Flipkart and Snapdeal. Flipkart has gotten venture capital backing of $3.15 billion, while Snapdeal has venture capital backing of $1.54 billion.
Morgan Stanley reported in February that Flipkart was the leader in “gross merchandise volume,” with a 45 percent market share. Snapdeal was second with 26 percent, and Amazon was third at 12 percent.
“I can assure you it’s only the beginning, and as we say in Amazon, ‘it’s only day one,’” said Bezos, who was given a leadership award from the council.
Amazon is not the only tech firm looking at the potential of India.
In May, Apple CEO Tim Cook visited the world’s largest democracy, which boasts the second-largest population, to meet with business and political leaders, including Modi.
