The Hindu : Business : eBay bets on India prospects

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Friday, Feb 24, 2006

Business

Business

eBay bets on India prospects

Staff Correspondent

Fastest among e-commerce markets in 2006

— Photo: Shashi Ashiwal

BUOYANCY ONLINE: Meg Whitman, President and CEO, eBay Inc. addressing a press conference in Mumbai on Thursday.

MUMBAI: India is an early stage market in terms of Internet penetration and only in the last six to eight months, has it gained critical mass. However, in terms of growth prospects for e-commerce, eBay, the global giant, expects India to be among the fastest growing markets.

Addressing the media here on Thursday, Meg Whitman, President and CEO, eBay Inc., said, "For e-commerce, India is among the fastest growing markets but that is from a small base. In 2006, we expect India to be among the top three globally in terms of growth for eBay and certainly the top in the Asia Pacific region.''

According to Ms. Whitman, "India's booming economy is fuelling the growth of Internet and, especially, e-commerce. The changing consumer behaviour and growing adoption of Internet will help create more opportunities for young Indian entrepreneurs in the online world in India and around the globe. Most countries are trying to create a hospitable environment for e-commerce and, therefore, IT legislation and IT laws are conducive for that in India. It is important to have connectivity and broadband.''

Further, she said that, in fact, a third of the global gross merchandise volume was fixed price format and this is likely to grow a lot.

Gautam Thakar, Country Manager, eBay India (formerly Baazee.com), said a third of busi-ness in India was from cross border trade for eBay. On eBay India an item sells to an international buyer every nine minutes.

Printer friendly page
Send this article to Friends by E-Mail