Amazon chief Jeff Bezos’ India visit marked by probe and protests

Amazon.com chief executive Jeff Bezos got a bitter reception during his India visit this week after the country’s antitrust regulator initiated a formal investigation hours before his arrival and infuriated small store owners demonstrated in the streets.

Bezos is in New Delhi for the Smbhav summit, an Amazon India gathering for small and medium-sized businesses, where he announced Amazon will invest a fresh US$1 billion to help bring such companies online. He also committed the e-commerce giant to exporting a total of US$10 billion of made-in-India goods by 2025.

“The 21st century is going to be the Indian century,” the Amazon founder said. “This country has something special: its dynamism. I also predict that the most important alliance in the 21st century will be between India and the United States.”

Dressed in blue jeans and a vest echoing Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s favourite garment, Bezos lifted a ceremonial lamp to inaugurate the summit. A day earlier, he made a rare post on Twitter to publicise his visit to the Mahatma Gandhi memorial, where he wore a white tunic and a rust-coloured Indian vest.

India is arguably Amazon’s most important overseas market and a key growth driver, but the small businesses that Bezos is hoping to endear himself to are organising in opposition.

The Confederation of All India Traders announced that members of its affiliate bodies across the country would stage sit-ins and public rallies in 300 cities to raise a war cry against the world’s largest online retailer.