Jeff Bezos, Amazon founder and billionaire, to visit India next week

Amazon founder and CEO Jeff Bezos will be visiting India next week and is likely to meet Prime Minister Narendra Modi and officials, besides industry leaders, according to sources. The top executive will also attend SMBhav – an event focussing on small and medium businesses in India – that is slated for January 15-16 in the capital city. When contacted, Amazon declined to comment.

Amazon, which has seen significant growth in its business in India, has also witnessed protest from a section of traders in the country who claim that e-commerce giants including Amazon and Walmart-owned Flipkart offer deep discounts and engage in unfair business practices.

Last year, the government had tightened rules for e-commerce marketplaces with foreign investment. These rules barred such platforms from offering products of sellers in which they hold a stake and banned exclusive marketing arrangements among other clauses. Following this, Amazon restructured its joint ventures to ensure compliance.

Bezos is likely to discuss regulatory issues in his meeting with the government officials. He is also slated to engage with SMBs during the SMBhav event. The event – which will focus on discussions around how technology adoption can enable SMBs in India – is slated to see participation from industry experts, policy makers, solution providers and Amazon leadership.