Narayana Murthy enters e-commerce biz in India, partners with Amazon
Wednesday, 3 September 2014 00:05
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NR Narayana Murthy, who is stepping down from the post of Executive Chairman of Infosys, is said to be finalising his plans to enter the e-commerce space with Amazon. Narayana Murthy will route his investments through his firm, Catamaran Ventures.
A.R. Narayanswamy who heads Catamaran Ventures said, “Catamaran is partnering with Amazon Asia to offer services that help offline sellers and SMBs in India to get online and to take advantage of the fast-growing online customer base in the country.” He further added, “NRN does not have a board role at any of our investments.” In India, foreign direct investments (FDIs) are not allowed in the e-commerce sector. According to ET, Amazon and Catamaran have consulted top legal firms and come up with a structure in which their venture does not fall under the ambit of FDI restrictions.
Amazon and Catamaran are planning to form a joint venture for the back end operations. This will be a holding company in which Catamaran will hold a majority 51% stake. Since this will be an Indian entity, its subsidiary will be called an Indian company too. That subsidiary will roll out the e-commerce business.
