- Urmi Sengupta
- 27 Apr 20
- business,Economy,Investments

Amidst the pandemic outbreak, when the world is facing an economic downturn, Facebook, the social media giant invested $5.7 billion (Rs. 43,573Cr) for a 9.99% stake in Reliance Jio Platform, one of India's biggest telecom operators. The deal has made Facebook the largest minority stakeholder of Reliance Jio and is perceived as a powerful partnership that will provide market dominance in the social media, eCommerce, and retail sectors.
The alliance is predicted to strengthen Reliance's e-commerce venture JioMart to compete with Amazon and Flipkart. The e-commerce venture has already been rolled out in areas of Mumbai and started testing an "ordering system" on WhatsApp, giving users the first peek of the collaboration of the two behemoths.
The deal will help Reliance cut its spiraling debt pile while providing the social media giant with a strong foothold in India's fast-growing market. Facebook's decision to move ahead with the investment despite the looming risk of a global economic meltdown signals its confidence in the Indian economy.