Reliance Industries Limited (“Reliance Industries”), Jio Platforms Limited (“Jio Platforms”) and Facebook, Inc. (“Facebook”) on 22^nd April, 2020, announced the signing of binding agreements for an investment of ₹ 43,574 crore by Facebook into Jio Platforms. This investment by Facebook values Jio Platforms at ₹ 4.62 lakh crore pre-money enterprise value ($65.95 billion, assuming a conversion rate of ₹ 70 to a US Dollar).

Facebook’s investment will translate into a 9.99% equity stake in Jio Platforms on a fully diluted basis and is also 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. The investment values Jio Platforms amongst the top 5 listed companies in India by market capitalization, within just three and a half years of launch of commercial services, validating Reliance Industries’ capability in incubating and building disruptive next-generation businesses, while delivering market defining shareholder value.

Jio Platforms, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Reliance Industries Limited, is a next-generation technology company building a Digital Society for India by bringing together Jio’s leading digital apps, digital ecosystems and India’s #1 high speed connectivity platform under one umbrella. Reliance Jio Infocomm Limited, which is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Jio Platforms, provides connectivity platform to over 388 million subscribers or roughly half the total mobile internet users in the country.

Jio’s vision is to enable a Digital India for 1.3 billion Indians and Indian businesses, especially small merchants, micro-businesses and farmers. Jio has brought transformational changes in the Indian digital services space and propelled India on the path towards becoming a global technology leader and among the leading digital economies in the world.

Jio has built a world-class digital platform powered by leading technologies such as Broadband connectivity, Smart Devices, Cloud and Edge Computing, Big Data Analytics, Artificial Intelligence, Internet of Things, Augmented and Mixed Reality and Blockchain.

Over the years, Facebook has increased its presence in India through its products and services such as Facebook, WhatApp and Instagram and has invested in India based on a strong belief in India’s entrepreneurial talent and opportunity, to help create meaningful impact for Indians and Indian businesses using their multiple platforms.

Concurrent with the investment, Jio Platforms, Reliance Retail Limited (“Reliance Retail”) and WhatsApp 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. WhatsApp already plays an important role in helping people and businesses connect in India.

Reliance Industries is working with retailers, producers, merchants and small traders at a grassroots level and equipping them with technology such as Point of Sale (POS) Solution as the company plans to take over India’s e-commerce as it sees it as a $700 billion opportunity.

Reliance Retail carries out its business through a host of Offline and Online services such as Reliance Fresh, Reliance Smart, Reliance Digital, Reliance Trends, AJIO, RelianceSMART.in, Jio Stores etc. Apart from this it also has business tie-ups with some of the biggest global brands Giorgio Armani, GAS, Michael Kors, Hamleys and several others.

Reliance Retail Limited has been successful in making sales of over ₹ 40,000 Crores in each of the past 3 Quarters of FY2020 with its Q3 sales crossing ₹ 45,000 Crores. The Revenue generating capacity of Reliance Retail can be assessed through the following tables.

Business Growth

Financial Highlights

*All Values in ₹ Crores unless otherwise specified. Net Worth and Total Assets kept same as revised data of the parameters were not available.

Reliance and Facebook has outlined a common goal with this investment which is to enable new opportunities for businesses of all sizes, but especially for small businesses as India has 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, in addition to empowering people seeking various digital services to fulfil the needs of Indian people and the economy.

Reliance Retail’s New Commerce platform, JioMart, is being built in partnership with millions of small merchants and kirana shops to empower them to better serve the needs of Indian consumers. The companies will work closely to ensure that consumers are able to access the nearest kiranas who can provide products and services to their homes by transacting seamlessly with JioMart using WhatsApp.

The partnership assumes special significance for India in the wake of the severe disruptions caused by the coronavirus pandemic in the Indian — and the global — economy. In the post- COVID era, comprehensive digitalisation will be an absolute necessity for revitalisation of the Indian economy.

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