Bezos says Amazon to up India investment to $5 billion

Amazon Inc chief executive Jeff Bezos said on Tuesday the company would invest an additional $3 billion in India, boosting its committed investment in the country to over $5 billion.

India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi (L) presents the Global Leadership Award to Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos at the U.S.-India Business Council (USIBC) 41st annual Leadership Summit in Washington. (Reuters)

Amazon Inc chief executive Jeff Bezos said on Tuesday the company would invest an additional $3 billion in India, boosting its committed investment in the country to over $5 billion.

Bezos told an event in Washington attended by Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi - who met earlier on Tuesday with President Barack Obama - that India was Amazon's fastest growing region.

"I can assure you it's only the beginning and as we say in Amazon, it's only day one," Bezos said, adding that the investments would help start-ups in India and accelerate the country's role as a hub for innovation and digital entrepreneurship.

He said Amazon would open a Web Services Cloud Region in India this year and the country would soon become home to the firm's largest software engineering and development centre outside of the United States, located in Hyderabad.

Bezos said Amazon had so far built 21 fulfillment centres with more than 5 mln cubic feet of storage space. He said its link-up with India Post enabled it to reach all serviceable postal codes in the country.

He said the Hyderabad centre would create jobs and career development opportunities for thousands of people and a "significant" number of jobs would be created over time because of the deployment of Amazon Cloud Services.

Bezos, the world's fourth-richest man, made the comments the same day Warren Buffett, the world's third richest man, praised him for embodying the potential of small business owners who build their companies.