In a move demonstrating the importance of Indian Markets for Facebook, the social media giant has made its largest single investment to date into Jio Platforms. Facebook will put in $5.7 Billion into the Indian Internet and Telecom Giant.
However, any foreign investment in India will have to come through the FDI (Foreign Direct Investment) route and will require the government’s approval. The Investment will also give Facebook a 9.99 percent stake in Jio Platforms which is a subsidiary of Reliance Industries.
While many companies are facing the heat of the ongoing Coronavirus pandemic, many large tech companies are searching for strategic investment opportunities.
In India, Jio itself added more than 400 million to the Internet in the last 4 years. Facebook sees India as a big market for its range of products and services. Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg made the investment announcement through a Facebook Post. He also wrote about the importance of Digital tools for entrepreneurs.
“The country 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. 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.”
Mark Zuckerberg, Facebook’s chief executive
