Facebook Buys 9.99% Stake In Mukesh Ambani’s Reliance Jio, Mark Zuckerberg Explains Why

US social media conglomerate Facebook invested Rs 43,574 crore into Jio, a unit of Reliance Industries for 9.99% stake. The investment will value Jio Platforms, a digital apps platform at Rs 4.62 lakh crore. Mukesh Ambani, Chairman, Reliance said, “At the core of this partnership is a commitment Mark Zuckerberg and I share for the digital transformation of India.” India is in the middle of ‘major digital transformation’. Facebook is committed to opening commerce opportunities for people across the country, said Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg after the announcement. Facebook Inc. said it would focus on collaborations between its messaging platform WhatsApp & Reliance Industries Limited's e-commerce venture JioMart. The deal, which makes Facebook the largest minority shareholder in Jio, comes after the government approved WhatsApp's digital payment service. The deal will help Mukesh Ambani owned RIL to reduce debt which swelled to more than $40 billion as of September and to make good its promise to cut net debt to zero by March 2021.