With tech giants such as Google and Facebook investing in Jio Platforms, India-based conglomerate Reliance Industries Limited not only is best placed to drive the increasing mobile phone penetration and boost Internet usage due to its cheap smartphones and 4G services but also has the advantage of capturing additional consumers through various digital services across the country, says GlobalData, a leading data and analytics company.
Reliance Industries Limited, which had a net debt of INR1.61 trillion (US$21bn), has successfully raised a total of US$22.2bn, including US$7bn through rights issues, from private-equity players such as KKR and Silver Lake Partners, to emerge as a net debt-free company almost eight months before the deadline.
Bindi Patel, Economic Research Analyst at GlobalData, says: “With the work-from-home culture gaining momentum due to the COVID-19 outbreak and video-conferencing apps being in more demand than ever before, Jio has launched China-based Zoom rival ‘JioMeet’. There are high chances that consumers might prefer JioMeet over Zoom due to the various features it has to offer in addition to the data protection features.”
With the announcement of new projects like grocery and e-commerce app JioMart, mixed reality headset Jio Glass, Jio Health Club, a platform that provides end-to-end healthcare services, and Jio TV+, a platform aiming to aggregate all streaming platforms like Netflix and YouTube, it is only a matter of time before Reliance captures the huge growing segment of consumer market in India.
With the growth of digital landscape across various avenues right from retail to healthcare, the company is set to give tough competition to rivals be it domestic or international. Known for its disruptive ideas and business models, Reliance Jio continues to capture Bharti Airtel and Vodafone Idea user base and enjoys almost one-thirds of total telecom market share in India.
Ms. Patel concludes: “By offering quality services at low cost, Reliance is setting up new standards for all domestic and international competitors to recalibrate their strategy in capturing one of the world’s largest consumer markets. By investing heavily in technology to further drive the growth, the company clearly sets an example for others to follow suit in the era of a digitalized world.”
