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20/06/2020

Despite Bezo’s Dispute With Saudi Arabia Amazon Launches Shopping Site In The Kingdom




Despite Bezo’s Dispute With Saudi Arabia Amazon Launches Shopping Site In The Kingdom
Despite a dispute between the Saudi Arabian authorities and the Amazon chief executive Jeff Bezos, the largest e-commerce platform of the world launched dedicated website for the shoppers of the country reflecting the intent of the company to do business in the kingdom irrespective of the personal issues of the Bezos.
 
The brand name of the website for the Saudi market and its customers was however changed to and Souq.com instead of the Amazon.com based on the Middle Eastern e-commerce platform that has been acquired by Amazon three years ago in 2017. , Amazon said on the site that the account information of the existing customers of Souq.com would be automatically transferred to the new address of amazon.sa. Souq’s website in the United Arab Emirates was similarly converted by the company to a re-branded portal called amazon.ae.
 
This business move by the United States based company shows that the personal level conflict between Jeff Bezos and the Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman has not been able to impact the plans of the Amazon to continue to invest in the country. 
 
The operations network that Amazon is building up in the kingdom will span throughout the country, the company said in a press release, and added that the company has been able to already set up a network comprising of 14 warehouses, a total workforce of more than 1,400 employees and a strategic partnership for delivering products of the company and third parties with the Saudi Post.
 
A dispute between Bezos, the richest person in the world, and Saudi Arabia started when there was publication of a set of leaked text messages that had taken place between Bezos and his girlfriend in early 2019. Saudi Arabia was identified as the source of the messages lat by by Bezos’ security chief. In January this year, cyber experts of the United Nations said that they were in possession of information that clearly indicated to the “possible involvement” of the Crown Prince Mohammed of Saudi Arabia in an alleged plot that was hatched to hack Bezos’ phone. That suggestion was termed as being “adsurd” by Saudi Arabia.
 
Further. Bexos is also the owner of the Washington Post, the newspaper that had employed Jamal Khashoggi, the rebel Saudi columnist and critic of the crown prince who was further murdered in October of 2018 allegedly by Saudi Arabia. The killing was ordered by the Crown Prince Mohammed according to claims by United States Central Intelligence Agency, according to reports. Those charges were refuted by the crown prince last year and had said that the murder of Khashoggi had been carried out by rogue operatives.
 
The saga had fueled speculation that Amazon would pull back from doing business in the country.
 
(Source:www.timesofindia.com)

Christopher J. Mitchell

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