Facebook has announced today it has has picked up a 9.99% stake in Reliance Jio which is the biggest telecom operator in India. The social media giant has invested a whopping $5.7 billion in the company. According to a blog post by the social networking giant, the major reason behind the deal that made Facebook the largest minority shareholder is to combine JioMart and WhatsApp powers to “enable people to connect with businesses, shop and ultimately purchase products in a seamless mobile experienceâ€.
It’s no longer news that having an Instant Messaging platform has gone beyond its chat capabilities in the mobile world. The Chinese giant Tencent is the owner of WeChat – a massive platform that allows over a billion users to communicate, purchase online or even make offline payments.
Facebook investment in the Indian market is no surprise as WhatsApp currently boasts over 400 million users in the country. David Fischer, Chief Revenue Officer, and Ajit Mohan, VP and Managing Director in India, revealed some numbers – in less than four years, Jio has brought more than 388 million people online, and in just the past five years over half a billion of people have gained access to internet.
