Indian oil to telecom conglomerate Reliance has recently announced that it has entered into a $5.7 billion stake deal with social media giant Facebook. As a part of the deal, Facebook now has 9.9% equity in Reliance’s telecom unity Reliance Jio. It is being speculated that this partnership will enable Reliance to de-stress its debt count, and will also help Facebook is establishing its foothold in the Indian digital space. With this, Reliance is now valued at 465.9 billion.
Shri Mukesh D. Ambani, Chairman, Reliance Industries Limited welcomes Mark Zuckerberg, founder @Facebook Inc as a long term and esteemed partner.#WithLoveFromJio #Jio #Facebook #MarkZuckerberg#MukeshAmbani #RelianceJio #JioDigitalLifehttps://t.co/RoHrxUpxZF
— Reliance Jio (@reliancejio) April 22, 2020
Facebook has released a statement stating, “This investment underscores our commitment to India and our excitement for the dramatic transformation that Jio has spurred in the country. In less than four years, Jio has brought more than 388 million people online, fueling the creation of innovative new enterprises and connecting people in new ways. We are committed to connecting more people in India together with Jio.”
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It is being said, that Facebook’s investment in Jio the largest FDI in the Indian technology sector ever. With this investment, Jio now stands among the top 5 listed companies in India by market capitalization.
Talking about the collaboration, Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg stated. “There’s a lot going on in the world right now, but I wanted to share an update on our work in India. Facebook is teaming up with Jio Platforms — we’re making a financial investment, and more than that, we’re committing to working together on some major projects that will open up commerce opportunities for people across India.”
He also stressed the fact that, while the world is facing a global crisis in the form of the coronavirus pandemic, small businesses which are the backbone of any economy need support. And Facebook’s investment in India is an attempt to roll out digital communication tools so that such small businesses can use those in order to sustain their business and keep growing their customer base.
He concluded, “I want to thank Mukesh Ambani and the entire Jio team for their partnership. We’re looking forward to getting started.”
