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Amazon.com is reportedly in discussions with e-commerce companies in India in a bid to expand into one of the world's fastest-growing economies.
The company could enter the market as early as first quarter 2012. It is in talks with a number of businesses including online bookstore Flipkart.com, electronics site letsbuy.com and luxury goods retailer exclusively.in.
However, if takeover talks fails, Amazon could enter the market on its own. A source told the Times of India: "Indian players see the huge potential in the e-commerce segment here and so have so far been resistant to being bought out easily."
Amazon is looking to hire a team of around 200 staff. It recently hired Madhu M, an executive in the Landmark retail chain, to head its Indian operations. He is based in Chennai, where the Kindle development team is also based.
The retail giant has also been setting up a warehouse in Mumbai and recently bought 80,000 sq ft of land in Chennai. If Amazon does set up a dedicated Amazon.in site for the country, it will be the seventh country specific site for the retailer, in addition to Canada, China, France, Germany, Italy, Japan and the United Kingdom.