Lauding Facebook's Rs 43,574 crore investment in Reliance's Jio Platforms, Broadband India Forum (BIF), a policy forum for digital communications, has said that the deal, which was finalised amid the ongoing COVID-19 crisis, underlines the tremendous resilience, vitality and outlook of the sector for the future.

Reliance Industries last week announced that social media giant Facebook was investing $5.7 billion (Rs 43,574 crore) in its subsidiary Jio for a 9.99 percent stake.

The investment makes Facebook the largest minority shareholder in Jio Platforms and values the RIL technology arm at Rs 4.62 lakh crore ($66 billion) (pre-money enterprise value).

Terming the deal a big positive for the sector, BIF said, "The incidence of such a major investment decision coming in the midst of the gloom of the global Covid-19 pandemic and its resultant economic fallout, strongly underlines the tremendous resilience, vitality and outlook of the sector for the future, despite

the trying times being faced by the industry at present."

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The leading independent think-tank stated that the partnership between Facebook and Jio could be especially beneficial to more than 50 million micro, small and medium businesses, over 100 million farmers, about 30 million small merchants and many millions of small and medium enterprises in the

informal sector across India.

Besides, Jio Platforms, 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.

The pact signed between Jio Platforms, Reliance Retail and WhatsApp is clearly aimed at facilitating new business opportunities by enabling a seamless digital connectivity experience between the consumer and local businesses/shops/kirana stores, added BIF.

"This is especially relevant in the present circumstances, wherein the Covid19

crisis has constrained consumers’ options, severely impacted the supply chain and normal business practices, and thereby necessitated added innovative measures from the smaller businesses to cater to the essential needs of the consumers," it stated.

“Facebook and Jio, both esteemed members of BIF, and leaders in their respective business verticals, have come together through this move and reaffirmed the promise and potential that the future holds for the Digital Services sector in the country," said TV Ramachandran, President, BIF.

Disclosure: RIL, the promoter of Reliance Jio, also controls Network18, the parent company of CNBCTV18.com.

First Published:Apr 28, 2020 6:54 AM IST