Google goes big by investing more in stock market in India, Facebook gets even stronger competitor after Mukesh Ambani climbs the richest people list
Google is in serious negotiations about buying $4 billion worth stocks in Indian billionaire Mukesh Ambani’s technology business. People who are familiar with the business are searching to join rival Facebook Inc. in chasing the first place in an abundant world of internet and e-commerce market. This is like a battle of companies for a higher place in the stock market.
Who is Jio and what’s it all about
Google has been discussing the investment in Jio Platforms Ltd., the digital part of Ambani’s Reliance Industries Ltd. The news could appear in a matter of weeks, according to an unidentified source.
Jio is known as the center of Jio’s ambition to transform his energy conglomerate into a homegrown technology magnate who would compete with China’s Alibaba Group Holding Ltd. The business has turned into an attraction for Silicon Valley investors, getting around $16 billion from Facebook, KKR & Co., and others in the past three months going high on the stock market.
What this means for the economy
If they get a deal with Google, that would further up Jio’s stability in its push to further online retail, content streaming, digital payments, education, and healthcare in India. That would mean more than a billion users, more potential stock traders, etc.
Every technology leader is looking for various ways to get into the Indian market. Millions of first-time internet users are added to the count every month. Jio Platforms gets almost 400 million customers through its wireless network and offers the most extensive base of such users. The latter are increasingly buying consumer goods online and downloading music and video, using cheap smartphones and Jio’s lowered price data-services.
Who is investing in India?
Trade war politics haven’t stopped Google from returning to China. That means India, one of the remaining large digital markets where Google’s business can develop further. It’s also a country where Google made many investments, not only in technology but in providing things such as payments and healthcare.
Last year, Reliance signed a 10-year deal with Microsoft Corp. for cloud services. The announcement wasn’t exclusive, and Google’s cloud strategy has centered on offering businesses ways to spend across multiple providers. Qualcomm Inc. is the latest in Jio’s growing list of high-profile investors, such as Intel Capital, Silver Lake Partners, etc. As of Monday, Reliance had sold one quarter of Jio, raising the stock market value for $65 billion.
How Ambani became richer that the richest
Google is smartly and widely investing in companies through its venture capital units and off its balance sheet. A $4 billion investment would be the giant Google has made in a company outside of the U.S.
The stock market surge has also helped Ambani, Asia’s richest man, to break into the exclusive club of the world’s ten wealthiest people. Ambani has a net worth of $72.4 billion; he has surpassed past Elon Musk, Google co-founders, and even well-known investor Warren Buffett only in the past few days. He’s now number six on the list.
Google’s impact on India’s society
Google is continually expanding its presence in the Indian market, just like Facebook. At the beginning of the week, the company said it plans to spend $10 billion over the maximum next seven years to accelerate the assimilation of much needed digital technology in the country. This amount could be put into partnerships and equity investments, among others.
Google entered India in 2004 with offices in Bangalore and Hyderabad. The Indian business has since grown into one of the company’s most valuable assets. India now has more than 500 million internet users (right behind China), with growth that has proved an excellent bait to many American investors, businesses and traders.
In the last ten years, Google has launched many projects and products in India, such as an Internet Saathi service. The service is there to bring women in rural areas online, which is very important for the culture change and its Google Pay service, which helped a lot in similar scenarios.
