????擁有1,800億美元投資組合的新加坡主權基金淡馬錫控股公司（Temasek Holdings）在印度的電子商務上押下了重注。最近，淡馬錫對印度的電商Snapdeal進行了投資，希望該國蓬勃發展的電子商務市場的交易量能在接下來的三四年內至少增長到現在的六倍。

????這可是對印度電子商務市場潛力的巨大信心。淡馬錫也是中國阿里巴巴（Alibaba）的早期投資者。后者作為電子商務巨擘，年成交額已經超過2,500億美元，比亞馬遜（Amazon）和eBay加起來還要多。淡馬錫相中Snapdeal，也是因為這家公司使用了與阿里巴巴類似的模式。

????高德納研究公司（Gartner）駐新加坡的分析師普拉文?森加表示：“印度有著巨大的機遇。但印度的物流是該國市場面臨的最大挑戰。要進行大量投資，才能建立覆蓋一線城市和二線城市的交通網絡。”

????根據畢馬威會計事務所（KPMG）和印度互聯網及移動通信協會（Internet and Mobile Association of India，IAMAI）的聯合報告，印度電子商務市場在2013年的規模約為1,300億美元。與中國電子商務市場的3,000億美元相比，該數值相對較低，不過考慮到印度仍然有很多的增長潛力，這也是個很可觀的數字了。

????根據印度互聯網及移動通信協會的說法，印度的利好在于該國的電子支付行業預計將增長40%，在今年年底達到2,000億美元的規模。另外，印度還有最年輕的網民群體，15歲至24歲之間的網民比例增長最快。

????國際數據公司（IDC）駐印度孟買的分析師希夫?普恰長期關注移動消費和游戲領域，他表示：“智能手機正在滲透這個國家，‘移動為先’的文化逐漸盛行，將會彌補該國相對匱乏的穩定上網條件。”

????目前，印度的電子商務正在從以存貨為基礎的模式（電商只售賣儲存在他們庫房中的產品），轉變為市場模式（利用平臺將賣家和買家聯系起來）。市場模式的資本密集度較低，能夠更多地（也更早地）讓股東盈利。

????在印度，Flipkart、Snapdeal、Myntra以及新加入的亞馬遜，目前在電子商務市場處于領先位置。

????森加表示：“Flipkart非常引人注目，它的市場覆蓋范圍更廣，在很多產品上具有很大影響力，回頭客很多，訂單源源不絕?！?/p>

????Flipkart位于印度南部的班加羅爾，由兩位前亞馬遜高管創立，以賣書起家，并隨后拓展到包括生活、醫療和配飾等的14個領域。今年早些時候，它收購了同樣位于班加羅爾的時裝電商Myntra，后者希望此舉能夠幫助其統治印度的網絡服裝零售領域。

????Temasek Holdings, the Singaporean sovereign wealth fund with a $180 billion investment portfolio, is betting big on the future of India’s e-commerce. It recently invested in the Indian e-tailerSnapdeal with the expectation that the volume of transactions in that country’s burgeoning e-commerce market will increase by a factor of at least six over the next three to four years.

????That’s no small vote of confidence in India’s e-commerce potential. Temasek was an early investor in China’s Alibaba, an e-commerce titan whose annual transactions today exceed $250 billion, or more than Amazon and eBay combined. It likes Snapdeal because the company uses a similar model.

????“India has huge opportunity,” says Praveen Sengar, an analyst at Gartner who is based in Singapore. “But logistics is the biggest challenge for the Indian market and significant investment will go into developing a network covering tier 1 and 2 cities.”

????India’s e-commerce market was around $13 billion in 2013, according to a joint report by KPMG and the Internet and Mobile Association of India, or IAMAI. That’s a relatively small number compared to China’s $300 billion, but it’s still a substantial figure with plenty of room for growth.

????In India’s favor is the fact that the country’s digital payments industry is expected to expand at a rate of 40 percent to reach $20 billion by the end of this year, according to IAMAI, and it has one of the youngest online populations, with 15 to 24-year-olds making up the fastest growing segment.

????“Smartphone penetration across the country and the increasingly mobile-first culture will offset the relative lack of reliable Internet connectivity,” says Shiv Putcha, an IDC analyst focused on consumer mobility and gaming and based in Mumbai.

????At present India is transitioning from what is called an inventory-based model of e-commerce, where e-tailers sell a single product or brand stocked in their warehouse, to a marketplace model where a platform brings buyers and sellers together. The marketplace model is considered to be less capital intensive, generating more (and earlier) profits for shareholders.

????In India, the leaders of the marketplace approach are Flipkart, Snapdeal, Myntra, and the recently arrived Amazon.

????“Flipkart definitely stands out with broader market coverage, presence in multiple categories, repeat buyers and consistent orders,” Sengar says.

????Bangalore-based Flipkart, which was founded by two former Amazon executives, started by selling books, but has since branched out into 14 categories including lifestyle, healthcare, and accessories. Earlier this year it acquired Myntra, a fashion portal also based in Bangalore, with hopes that the move will help it dominate apparel e-tailing in India.