Facebook To Invest Rs 43,574 Cr In Reliance Jio Platforms In Big India Push
Facebook will invest Rs. 43,574 crore ($5.7 billion) into Jio platforms, the telecoms unit of Reliance Industries, as the US social-networking giant seeks a broader foothold in India, its biggest global market.
At 9.99% equity stake, the deal makes Facebook the largest minority shareholder in the Mukesh Ambani-owned company as it looks to leverage its WhatsApp chat service to offer digital payments service. The messaging service has 400 million users in the country.
"(India) is in the middle of a major digital transformation and organizations like Jio have played a big part in getting hundreds of millions of Indian people and small businesses online," Facebook founder CEO Mark Zuckerberg said in a post. He said with the investment the two companies were “committing to work together on some major projects that will open up commerce opportunities for people across India”. “With communities around the world in lockdown, many of these entrepreneurs need digital tools they can rely on to find and communicate with customers and grow their businesses. This is something we can help with — and that’s why we’re partnering with Jio to help people and businesses in India create new opportunities," he added. Facebook's investment will put a value of Jio Platforms at Rs 4.62 lakh crore pre-money enterprise value — which is $65.95 billion at a conversion rate of Rs 70 to a US Dollar. “The partnership between Facebook and Jio is unprecedented in many ways. This is the largest investment for a minority stake by a technology company anywhere in the world and the largest FDI in the technology sector in India,” Reliance Industries said in a press release. Jio Platforms is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Reliance Industries Limited that works on digital apps, digital ecosystems and the mobile service. Watch: Statement by Mukesh Ambani on Facebook-Reliance Jio deal:
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"(India) is in the middle of a major digital transformation and organizations like Jio have played a big part in getting hundreds of millions of Indian people and small businesses online," Facebook founder CEO Mark Zuckerberg said in a post. He said with the investment the two companies were “committing to work together on some major projects that will open up commerce opportunities for people across India”. “With communities around the world in lockdown, many of these entrepreneurs need digital tools they can rely on to find and communicate with customers and grow their businesses. This is something we can help with — and that’s why we’re partnering with Jio to help people and businesses in India create new opportunities," he added. Facebook's investment will put a value of Jio Platforms at Rs 4.62 lakh crore pre-money enterprise value — which is $65.95 billion at a conversion rate of Rs 70 to a US Dollar. “The partnership between Facebook and Jio is unprecedented in many ways. This is the largest investment for a minority stake by a technology company anywhere in the world and the largest FDI in the technology sector in India,” Reliance Industries said in a press release. Jio Platforms is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Reliance Industries Limited that works on digital apps, digital ecosystems and the mobile service. Watch: Statement by Mukesh Ambani on Facebook-Reliance Jio deal:
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