Mobile telecoms and retail are two platforms on which Mukesh Ambani intends to remodel Reliance Industries (Nikkei Montage/Source photo by AFP/Jiji, EPA/Jiji and Ken Kobayashi)

Ambani reshapes Reliance for digital India with Jio deals

Investments led by Facebook herald spinoffs that will shift conglomerate's focus

KEN KOYANAGI, Nikkei Asian Review editor-at-large

June 5, 2020 04:04 JST

Updated on June 5, 2020 12:45 JST

TOKYO -- India's struggle against the coronavirus pandemic has not stopped a dealmaking whirlwind at Reliance Industries. As the country has slowed down, its biggest corporation by sales and market capitalization has only seemed to speed up.

Since Facebook said on April 22 that it would invest $5.7 billion to buy 9.99% of Jio Platforms, Reliance's wholly owned digital business unit, a string of global tech companies and financial investors have followed suit.