Amazon seeks dilution of FDI norms

Amazon.com, the world's largest online retailer, is seeking relaxations in rules relating to foreign direct investment for online retailers in India.

Paul Misener, global vice president of Amazon, today met minister of commerce, industry and textiles Anand Sharma to discuss issues regarding relaxation of foreign direct investment (FDI) guidelines.

''We talked about it (relaxation of FDI guidelines). We discussed all aspects in the context of finding a better way to serve Indian customers, both sellers and buyers,'' Misener said after the meeting.

While the new FDI policy in retail announced by the department of industrial policy and promotion in September last year allows 100 per cent foreign ownership in single brand retail business and up to 51 per cent share in multi-brand retail, it bars FDI by online retailers.

Sources in the government, meanwhile, said the government is also looking at the possibility of allowing FDI in e-commerce as well.

Amazon, meanwhile, has opened three technical offices in Bangalore, Chennai and Hyderabad that work on building software and applications that support Amazon web sites across the world.