Reliance Industries (RIL) shares jumped more than 9% to Rs 1,035 on BSE on Wednesday, according to a report that the US tech giant Facebook is looking to buy a multi-billion dollar stake in Reliance Jio . India’s fastest growing network, Jio, has over 370 million subscribers.
According to a Financial Times report, Facebook is keen to take a 10% stake in the Indian telecoms giant, but the spread of the coronavirus could change the timing of the deal.
Jio is the only company that can face the American tech giants. RIL has paid huge sums of money to expand Reliance Jio and make it the largest telecommunications player in the country. However, this has added to Reliance’s debt burden and the deal could help the company reach its goal of reducing net debt to zero by March 2021, the report said.
Reliance announced last year that it would separate Jio into a new company and attract new investors before a possible listing.
At 10 a.m., the stock was up 6.33 percent to Rs 1.002.80. In comparison, the S&P BSE Sensex benchmark index traded 0.76%. Regarding the BSE, 11.6 crores of Reliance Industries shares (1.8% of equity) changed hands in the pre-market block at Rs 949 per share.
Reliance Industries stock lost 29.32% in the past month compared to the previous month, compared with a 32.8% drop in the S&P BSE Sensex benchmark. The stock hit its 52-week low of Rs 875.70 on the BSE on March 23, 2020.
.
