Facebook invests $5.7 billion in India's Reliance Jio

(Reuters) - Facebook Inc (FB.O) announced a $5.7 billion investment in Reliance Industries Ltd’s (RELI.NS) telecom unit on Wednesday, making it the largest minority shareholder in Jio Platforms Limited.

The social media giant said bit.ly/2RX7iGN it would focus on collaborating its messaging platform WhatsApp with Reliance's e-commerce venture JioMart to enable people to connect with small businesses.

Facebook's investment will translate to a 9.99% equity stake in Jio Platforms on a fully diluted basis, Jio said bit.ly/34Wzy1a in a statement.

The deal comes at a time when Facebook-owned WhatsApp has secured approval to roll out its digital payment service in India, according to media reports bit.ly/2UzxlGa, to compete with the likes of Google Pay and Paytm.

WhatsApp has 400 million users in India, its biggest market, reaching nearly 80% of smartphone users in the country.

Reliance Jio, the fast-growing telecom carrier controlled by billionaire Mukesh Ambani, began operations in late 2016.

Last month, Financial Times reported that social media giant was in talks for a 10% stake in Jio but the talks were halted due to global travel bans amid the coronavirus outbreak.

Reporting by Bhargav Acharya in Bengaluru; Editing by Ramakrishnan M.

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