RIL in talks with West Asian sovereign funds for Jio Platforms: Report

Abu Dhabi and Saudi groups slated to invest about $1 billion into Jio Platforms Ltd, says report

Three leading West Asian sovereign wealth funds are in advanced talks to invest in Reliance Industries Ltd.’s digital arm, Bloomberg News reported quoting unnamed sources.

Abu Dhabi’s Mubadala Investment Co. is slated to invest about $1 billion into Jio Platforms Ltd. and an announcement could come as soon as this week, said the news agency, following similar reports last week. Reliance, backed by India’s richest man Mukesh Ambani, is also in discussions with Abu Dhabi Investment Authority and Saudi Arabia’s The Public Investment Fund.

Jio Platforms, which houses music and movie apps as well a Reliance's telecommunication venture Jio Infocomm, has secured a massive $10 billion from investors including Facebook Inc in May.

Reliance and its subsidiaries have invested over $2 billion in its four-pronged strategy to become a technology powerhouse, Business Standard reported on Monday.

The strategy includes spending over $1.6 billion on buying stakes in 24 tech firms across the US, UK, and India; winning 30 US patents out of the 53 it applied for, mostly in telecom and radio communications; and developing in-house tech in artificial intelligence, machine learning, block chain, virtual reality, big data, and 5G. Also, the ‘Gennext’ programme is providing venture capital support and mentoring to 150-odd companies across fields ranging from finance and retail to e-procurement, logistics, non-invasive testing of fruit quality, and delivering Indian products to global consumers, among others.