In what could be called the largest FDI in the technology sector in India, Facebook has bought a 9.99% stake in Reliance Jio. This investment amounting to around Rs 43,574 crore into Jio Platforms, a unit of Reliance Industries, boosted the shares of India’s oil-to-retail conglomerate over 8% in early trade.
In a statement, RIL said, “Reliance Industries Limited, Jio Platforms Limited and Facebook, Inc. today announced the signing of binding agreements for an investment of Rs43,574 crore by Facebook into Jio Platforms.”
While Facebook had this to say, “This investment underscores our commitment to India and our excitement for the dramatic transformation that Jio has spurred in the country. We are committed to connecting more people in India together with Jio.”
The deal is mainly focused on coming up with digital-based solutions for 60 million micro, small and medium businesses, 120 million farmers, 30 million small merchants and millions of small and medium enterprises in the informal sector. Concurrent with the investment, Jio Platforms, Reliance Retail, and Facebook’s WhatsApp service have also entered into a commercial partnership agreement to further accelerate Reliance Retail’s new commerce business on the JioMart platform using WhatsApp and to support small businesses on WhatsApp, RIL said.
Commenting on the same, Mr. Mukesh Ambani said, “In the very near future, JioMart – Jio’s digital new commerce platform, and Whatsapp – will empower nearly 3 crores small Indian Kirana shops to digitally transact with every customer in their neighborhood. This means all of you can order and get faster delivery of day-to-day items, from nearby local shops,”
