中美高科技公司角逐印度市場 US groups square off against the Chinese in India ecommerce fight

Indian soil has played host to many a fight involving invading foreign powers, from the Mughals to the British. Its ecommerce sector faces a similar prospect. The largest technology companies are piling in, seeking to replicate in India the dominance they enjoy in their home markets. The contest will pit US tech groups against rivals from Asia, and China in particular.

印度國土上發生過許多史詩般的戰鬥，從蒙古人到英國人，多個外來強權都曾入侵過這片土地。如今，印度的電子商務領域面臨着相似的前景。全球大型科技公司正蜂擁而至，試圖將自己在本土市場的主導地位複製到印度。很快，美國科技集團將與來自亞洲、尤其是中國的競爭對手展開一場爭奪戰，不知最後誰能勝出？

The attractions of India for both sides are obvious. The market is potentially very large but technologically underdeveloped. About 130m Indians owned smartphones last year, a number that is set to hit 750m by 2020, according to Ericsson. The prospect of such rapid growth has prompted a record funding rush from venture capital groups over the past year. It gives the southern IT hub of Bangalore a boomtown feel.

對上述兩方來說，印度的吸引力顯而易見。印度市場潛力巨大，但技術上仍欠發達。愛立信(Ericsson)數據顯示，去年印度智能手機用戶約有1.3億人，到2020年時這一數字將達7.5億。在如此快速增長前景的激勵下，過去一年全球風險投資機構在該市場的投資額創下了紀錄。印度南部的IT中心班加羅爾也因此變成了一座充滿活力、欣欣向榮的城市。

India is attractive to the likes of Google, Facebook and Twitter as they seek to expand into Asia. The trio face severe operating restrictions in mainland China, which would otherwise be an obvious growth market. Those US participants that are allowed to set up shop in Beijing or Shanghai face stiff competition from local incumbents. India is relatively open territory.

對谷歌(Google)、Facebook和Twitter等美國龍頭企業而言，印度尤其具有吸引力，因爲它們正尋求將業務拓展至亞洲。這三家公司在中國內地面臨嚴格的經營限制——那裏其實本應是個明擺着的增長市場。而那些獲准在北京或上海設立分支的美國公司，也仍要面臨來自當地既有企業的激烈競爭。相比之下，印度則是個相對的“開闊地”。

The Americans have a head start, too. India is Facebook’s second largest market by users and Twitter’s third largest. They are boosted by consumers who warm to western tech brands. In a few years Indians will become the largest market for both companies, even though the country’s minuscule online advertising market means neither has much chance of turning a quick profit. Amazon is also expanding aggressively, having decided to throw $2bn into India last year, as it takes on domestic online retailer Flipkart. A similarly fierce contest faces Uber as it grapples with local taxi hailing app Ola Cab, and its Japanese backer SoftBank, which has pledged to plough $10bn into Indian internet businesses over the next decade.

而且，美國人還擁有一個優勢。以用戶數計，印度已是Facebook的第二大市場、Twitter的第三大市場。印度消費者喜愛成熟的西方科技品牌，這一點對Facebook和Twitter有利。用不了幾年，印度就將成爲這兩家公司的最大市場，儘管印度的在線廣告市場規模很小、兩家公司都沒多少機會從中快速獲利。亞馬遜(Amazon)也在積極拓展，去年該公司決定向印度投入20億美元，以便與印度國內最大的在線零售商Flipkart抗衡。優步(Uber)也面臨同樣激烈的競爭，它要努力對付當地的叫車應用Ola Cab及其背後的金主日本軟銀(SoftBank)。軟銀已承諾，未來10年將向印度互聯網企業投資100億美元。

The Chinese contingent are arriving later, but their intent is no less formidable.

“中國隊”雖然到得較晚，但其宏圖大志一點不遜於對手。