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MUMBAIL: Facebook has taken a $ 5.7 billion stake in India’s richest man Jio digital platform business Mukesh Ambani, the two sides said on Wednesday, marking one of the largest foreign investments in the country.
The deal will give the U.S. social media giant a 10 percent stake in Jio Platforms, part of Ambani’s Reliance Industries empire.
In announcing the deal, Facebook said it wanted to link the “power of WhatsApp,” its messaging subsidiary, with Jio, which is taking an increasing share of the online sector to boost digital business.
India is Facebook’s largest single market with some 400 million users.
“India is in the midst of one of the most dynamic social and economic transformations the world has ever seen, fueled by the rapid adoption of digital technologies,” a Facebook statement said.
In four years, Ambani has made its Jio telecommunications unit the largest mobile operator in the country with 388 million subscribers. It has sidelined competitors with aggressive low prices.
Jio Platforms provides internet and e-commerce services that take advantage of the huge subscriber base.
Reliance said it wanted to increase the incomes of farmers, microentrepreneurs and other small businesses that are the cornerstone of the 1.3 billion-person economy.
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