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Facebook eyeing one of India's largest telecom operators, Reliance Jio

2020-03-24T18:33:40.636Z


The social network was on the verge of acquiring 10% of Indian society, worth several billion dollars, before the discussions were interrupted by the coronavirus.


Facebook is ready to invest massively in the Indian market. According to information from the Financial Times, the social network was about to acquire 10% of Reliance Jio, one of the main telecom operators in India whose valuation is $ 60 billion. The operation would cost billions of dollars. But the signing of the contract was suspended because of the coronavirus epidemic and the ban on professional travel abroad.

India is Facebook's biggest market. It has 400 million users, including 250 million just for its WhatsApp messaging.

Reliance Jio was founded in 2016 by Reliance Industries Limited, an Indian conglomerate active in energy, biotechnology, infrastructure and mass distribution. Its founder and owner is Mukesh Ambani, the richest man in the country.

A giant of the Indian digital economy

The telecom operator has tumbled into the Indian landscape by declaring a tariff war on Vodafone and Airtel. Reliance Jio marketed the first plans with unlimited calls, and a 4G data envelope at a bargain price. He did not hesitate to offer three free months to his new customers. Seeing that their telecom bill could be divided by two, even three, the Indians massively subscribed to this new operator. In less than six months, Reliance Jio had 100 million subscribers. A number did not have the means to subscribe to competitive offers and were able to access the Internet for the first time. Four years later, the operator claims 370 million customers.

Last September, the operator launched its fiber offer, Jio Fiber. From 10 euros per month, it includes a TV set-top box, free calls to India, video games, and even a home video surveillance solution. Reliance Jio also operates a music streaming (JioSaavn) and online payment (JioPay) platform. Since the beginning of the year, the operator has also embarked on home shopping delivery (JioMart), in partnership with Reliance Retail, giant of the large distribution in India. Objective, to become a local alternative to the Americans Amazon and WallMart, established in the country.

Facebook is therefore trying to ally itself with a major player in the Indian digital economy, while the local authorities are pursuing a policy hostile to Silicon Valley. According to information from the Financial Times , Google was also in the running to acquire a share of the Indian giant. The Indian conglomerate is seeking to deleverage and sells minority stakes in these main activities in order to replenish its cash flow.

Source: lefigaro

All news articles on 2020-03-24

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