Facebook Inc announced on Wednesday a $ 5.7 billion (Rs. 43,574 crores) investment in Reliance Industries Ltd's telecom unit, making it the largest minority shareholder in Jio Platforms Limited.

The social media giant said it will focus on its WhatsApp messaging platform collaborating with Reliance's E-commerce venture  JioMart to enable people to connect with small businesses.

Jio said in a statement that Facebook's investment will translate to a 9.99% equity stake in Jio Platforms on a fully diluted basis.

The deal comes at a time when Facebook-owned WhatsApp has approval to roll out its digital payment service in India, according to media reports, to compete with likes of Google Pay and Paytm.

WhatsApp has 400 million users in India, its largest market, reaching nearly 80% of the country's smartphone users. Reliance Jio, a fast-growing telecom carrier controlled by billionaire Mukesh Ambani, began operations in late 2016.

Last month, the Financial Times reported that the social media giant was in talks for a 10% stake in Jio, but the talks were halted due to global travel ban amid the coronavirus outbreak.

Source: Business Today, Flipboard

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