Facebook is set to purchase just under 10% for an Indian multinational conglomerate, Reliance Jio, for $5.6B.
“We’re making a financial investment, and more than that, we’re committing to working together on some major projects that will open up commerce opportunities for people across India.”
Mark Zuckerber, CEO of Facebook
Facebook has already invested around $15B in other startups headquartered in India, many of which believe is due to the intense scrutiny that Facebook has come under in the country in recent years. The goal of the purchase is to allow Reliance to take advantage of WhatsApp to allow stores to transact digitally.