Earlier today, Reliance Industries announced that Saudi Arabia’s sovereign wealth fund PIF has invested Rs 11,367 crore in Jio Platforms. The fund picked up a 2.32 percent stake in Jio Platforms for its investment, which was the 11th of its kind in less than two months for Jio Platforms. With this investment, the latter has raised Rs 1,15,693.95 crore from leading global investors in exchange for 24.7 percent of the company.
Marking the occasion and commenting on the development, Mukesh Ambani, chairman and managing director of Reliance Industries Limited, said, “We at Reliance have enjoyed a long and fruitful relationship with the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia for many decades. From Oil Economy, this relationship is now moving to strengthen India’s New Oil (Data-driven) Economy, as is evident from PIF’s investment into Jio Platforms. I have greatly admired the defining role PIF has played in driving the economic transformation of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. I welcome PIF as a valued partner in Jio Platforms and look forward to their sustained support and guidance as we take ambitious steps to accelerate India’s digital transformation for enriching and empowering the lives of 1.3 billion Indians.”
His Excellency Yasir Al-Rumayyan, the governor of PIF, said upon announcement of the deal, “We are delighted to be investing in an innovative business which is at the forefront of the transformation of the technology sector in India. We believe that the potential of the Indian digital economy is very exciting and that Jio Platforms provides us with an excellent opportunity to gain access to that growth. This investment will also enable us to generate significant long-term commercial returns for the benefit of Saudi Arabia’s economy and our country’s citizens, in line with our mandate to safeguard and grow the national wealth of the Kingdom.”
Jio Platforms is a subsidiary of Reliance Industries, and has played a stellar role in India so far. Buoyed by its impressive impact on the Indian tech industry, the list of its global investors in recent times has included Facebook, Silver Lake, Vista Partners, General Atlantic, KKR, Mubadala, ADIA, TPG and L Catterton. PIF, which is the latest to join the ranks, is a high profile entrant in this list. Its investment in Jio Platforms has been accounted as the largest of this nature for the fund, in the Indian subcontinent till date. The sovereign wealth fund has a key mission to make a diverse range of investments in order to strengthen the Saudi Arabian kingdom’s objective of economic transformation, as part of the nation’s Vision 2030 goals.
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