Amazon chief Bezos to invest $1bn in digitizing small businesses in India

billion worth of India-made goods by 2025. (File/AFP)
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Updated 15 January 2020
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Amazon chief Bezos to invest $1bn in digitizing small businesses in India

  • Bezos feels like the 21st century will be India’s century
  • Amazon committed to $5.5 billion investments in India

NEW DELHI: Amazon.com Inc. will invest $1 billion in digitizing small- and medium-businesses in India and expects to export $10 billion worth of India-made goods by 2025, its founder Jeff Bezos said on Wednesday.
Speaking at a company event in New Delhi, Bezos also said he feels the 21st century is “going to be the Indian century.”
“The dynamism, the energy ... the growth. This country has something special and it’s a democracy,” Bezos said.
Amazon has committed $5.5 billion in India investments and sees the country as a key growth market.

Bezos’ visit, however, is likely to be marred by protests across India from small business owners who allege Amazon is driving them out of business by offering sharply discounted products and favoring select big sellers on its platform. The company denies the allegations.

 


Closing Bell: Saudi main index closes in red at 10,847

Updated 25 February 2026
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Closing Bell: Saudi main index closes in red at 10,847

RIYADH: Saudi Arabia’s Tadawul All Share Index dipped on Wednesday, losing 58.51 points, or 0.54 percent, to close at 10,847.93.

The total trading turnover of the benchmark index was SR3.78 billion ($1 billion), as 73 of the listed stocks advanced, while 187 retreated.

The MSCI Tadawul Index decreased, down 7.09 points or 0.48 percent, to close at 1,472.98.

The Kingdom’s parallel market Nomu lost 178.75 points, or 0.77 percent, to close at 22,916.83. This comes as 30 of the listed stocks advanced, while 37 retreated.

The best-performing stock was the Power and Water Utility Co. for Jubail and Yanbu, with its share price surging by 8.47 percent to SR31.24.

Other top performers included Saudi Paper Manufacturing Co., which saw its share price rise by 6.13 percent to SR53.70, and Jamjoom Pharmaceuticals Factory Co., which saw a 4.58 percent increase to SR137.

On the downside, the worst performer of the day was CHUBB Arabia Cooperative Insurance Co., whose share price fell by 5.14 percent to SR17.53.

Saudi Kayan Petrochemical Co. and Arabian Internet and Communications Services Co. also saw declines, with their shares dropping by 4.87 percent and 4.43 percent to SR4.88 and SR181.40, respectively.

On the announcement front, Saudi Kayan Petrochemical Co. announced its annual financial results for 2025, with sales dropping 3.06 percent year-on-year to SR8.45 billion. The company also recorded a net loss of SR893.86 million.

In a Tadawul statement, the company said the net loss and decline in annual sales were driven by a drop in average selling prices, despite higher sales volumes.