Global giants in talks to invest in Reliance Jio infra investment trusts: Report

INTERNATIONAL investors are in discussions with India’s Reliance Industries Ltd (RIL) to invest in two investment infrastructure trusts formed to own Reliance Jio’s tower and fibre assets, Indian daily - The Economic Times reported, today (30).  

Reliance Jio is the telecommunication arm of RIL.  

Ontario Municipal Employees' Retirement System (OMERS), British Columbia Pension Corporation (BCPC), sovereign wealth fund Abu Dhabi Investment Authority (ADIA), and others are among the potential investors, the daily reported citing sources aware of the matter. 

“The plan is to induct a minimum of five unit holders or investors as stipulated by law. Some potential investors such as ADIA, Brookfield, CPPIB may also come on board as co-sponsors by deploying larger cheques,” the daily reported. 

RIL has already transferred its fibre and tower undertakings to separate firms to move liabilities worth £11.79 billion out of its telecommunication arm’s balance sheet.  

RIL is likely to keep most of the current liabilities out of its balance sheet through its latest move and retain around £1.54bn of debt in the tower and fibre special purpose vehicles (SPVs), said analysts based on the initial discussions. 

The Indian conglomerate will continue to run and operate these assets. 

Soon after its launch in 2016, Reliance Jio changed the shape of the Indian telecommunication industry with its cheap data packs and other services. Reliance Jio’s services at cheap price tag forced its rivals, including Airtel, Vodafone-Idea, and others to cut their service charges significantly to attract more customers and retain their existing users.