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☆ Ambani's Reliance Jio IPO set for 2025, retail debut much later, sources say
▼ + stars: | 2024-11-04 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

Reliance Industries' boss Ambani hasn't updated his IPO timelines after saying in 2019 that Reliance Jio and Reliance Retail would "move towards" a listing within five years. The two sources said Reliance has now firmed up plans to launch the Reliance Jio IPO in 2025 as it internally believes it has achieved a stable business and revenue stream in becoming India's No. But the retail business IPO is not expected until after 2025 as the company first needs to address some internal business and operational challenges, said the first source. Reliance Jio is set to lock horns with Elon Musk if he launches his Starlink internet service in India, and Jio, which is also backed by Google and Meta, has partnered with Nvidia to develop AI infrastructure. Reliance, however, aims for the 2025 Jio IPO to be India's biggest ever, overtaking Hyundai India's record $3.3 billion IPO this year, said the first source.

Persons: Mukesh D, Ambani, Ajay, Mukesh Ambani, Ambani hasn't, Elon Musk, Jefferies Organizations: Reliance Industries Ltd, Reuters, Reliance Industries, Reliance, KKR, General, Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, Google, Nvidia, Hyundai Locations: New Delhi, India, Mumbai, General Atlantic, Abu Dhabi

Amid the flurry of partnerships announced on the occasion was a deal between Reliance and Nvidia to build AI infrastructure in India. Nvidia on Thursday announced a slew of partnerships with major Indian firms and launched a Hindi language model, as the American chip company looks to ramp up business in one of the world's biggest technology markets. Nvidia also announced Nemotron-4-Mini-Hindi 4B — a small language model in Hindi, the widest-spoken of India's multitude of languages. Companies running Nvidia hardware can deploy this language model, while Indian IT consultancy Tech Mahindra is using Nvidia's model to launch its own Hindi AI model, Project Indus 2.0. "India is very, very dear to the world's computer industry, central to the IT industry," Huang said.

Persons: Huang, Jensen Huang, Akshay Kumar, Mukesh Ambani, Narendra Modi, Modi, Neil Shah, Shah Organizations: Reliance, Nvidia, Yotta, Tata Communications, Reliance Industries, Companies, Indian, Tech Mahindra, Infosys, Wipro, TCS, Reliance Jio, Ambani's Reliance Industries, Counterpoint Research, CNBC Locations: India, Mumbai, American

☆ Reliance, Disney offer concessions to win antitrust nod for India media merger, Reuters reports
▼ + stars: | 2024-08-14 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +1 min

Reliance and Walt Disney have offered to sell some channels to win faster antitrust approval for their $8.5 billion India media assets merger, but are resisting changes to cricket broadcast rights they own, two sources familiar with the matter said. Antitrust experts have warned that the Reliance-Disney merger, announced in February, could face intense scrutiny as it will create India's biggest entertainment player which will compete with Sony , Zee Entertainment , Netflix and Amazon with a combined 120 TV channels and two streaming services. The sources said some of the concessions being offered relate to regional Indian language channels where the two companies may have a dominant market share. Zee and Sony planned to create a $10 billion TV behemoth in India and in 2022 offered concessions by selling three TV channels. That helped them win CCI approval, but the merger eventually collapsed.

Persons: Walt Disney, Mukesh Ambani's Organizations: Walt, Antitrust, Disney, Sony, Zee Entertainment, Netflix, Competition Commission of India, Reliance, Zee Locations: India

☆ India’s economy and Modi, Ambani, Adani: The three men shaping the next economic superpower
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-07 | by ( Diksha Madhok | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +13 min

Fellow billionaire Gautam Adani, founder of the Adani group, was also invited. Reliance Industries and the Adani Group are sprawling conglomerates worth over $200 billion each, with established businesses in sectors ranging from fossil fuels and clean energy to media and technology. As a result, these three men — Modi, Ambani and Adani — are playing a fundamental role in shaping the economic superpower India will become in the coming decades. Both Adani and Ambani have become key allies as the country embarks on this revolution. “India cannot grow rich before it becomes old on the back of a few big firms like Adani or Ambani,” he said.

Persons: Mukesh Ambani, Mark Zuckerberg, Bill Gates, Ivanka Trump, popstar Rihanna, David Blaine, Ambani, Gautam Adani, Jeff Bezos, ”, Rohit Lamba, Narendra Modi, — Modi, Adani, Noemi Cassanelli, ’, John D Rockefeller, Vanderbilt, James Crabtree, Modi, Guido Cozzi, Cozzi, Ambani’s, Dhirubhai, helms, Cantor Fitzgerald, Cantor, ’ Ambani, Amit Dave, Hindenburg’s, ferociously, ” Cantor, Modi’s, Prasanna Tantri, Crabtree, Lamba Organizations: New, New Delhi CNN —, Reliance Industries, Pennsylvania State University, Investors, Adani, CNN, Adani Realty, Frick, Astor, Carnegie, Samsung, Hyundai, World Bank . Coal, University of St, Adani Group, Reliance, Reliance Industry, Adani Enterprises, AEL “, Tata Group, Modi, India’s, Hindenburg, GQG Partners, Indian School of Business Locations: New Delhi, Gujarat, Davos, Coachella, Silicon Valley, India, China, Mumbai, Antilia, America, Asia, Britain, South Korea, Worth, United Kingdom, University of St Gallen, Switzerland, American

☆ Zee founder family to eventually lift stake to 26%, according to reports
▼ + stars: | 2024-01-29 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +1 min

Logos of Zee Entertainment Enterprises Ltd. displayed on computer screens arranged in Mumbai, India, on Tuesday, Jan. 9, 2024. Zee Entertainment founder Subhash Chandra's family will eventually lift their stake in the media house to 26% from 4% currently, Mint reported on Monday, days after a merger with Sony 's India unit collapsed. "I have advised my immediate and extended family to increase their shareholding in Zee... We eventually want to go back to 26%, but it will take time," Chandra told Mint, a business daily, in an interview. Chandra, who set up Zee in 1992 and is often dubbed the "Father of Indian Television", is now chairman emeritus at Zee. Chandra, who is Goenka's father, told Mint "Punit is the right person to run the company and there is no problem with Zee."

Persons: Subhash Chandra's, Zee, Chandra, Punit Goenka, Goenka, Mukesh Ambani's Organizations: Zee Entertainment Enterprises, Zee, Sony Group Corp, Zee Entertainment, Mint, Sony, Indian, Walt Disney, India Locations: Mumbai, India, Zee .

☆ Japan's Sony terminates $10 billion merger with India's Zee
▼ + stars: | 2024-01-22 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

Japan's Sony Group said on Monday it has sent a termination notice to Zee Entertainment to call off a $10 billion merger of their Indian operations, following an impasse over who will lead the combined entity. It cited unmet conditions of the merger agreement as the reason for the termination. Although Sony did not specify on Monday what conditions were unfulfilled, a stalemate over who will lead the combined company had put the merger in danger. Zee proposed CEO Punit Goenka, but Sony disagreed in light of a market regulator probe into Goenka. On Friday, Zee had said it was committed to the merger and was working to close the deal through "good faith negotiations".

Persons: Mukesh, Zee, Punit Goenka, Karan Taurani Organizations: Sony, Zee Entertainment, Reliance Industries, Goenka, Reuters, Disney, Elara Capital, Netflix, Disney's Star, Zee, Bloomberg Locations: Mumbai, Maharashtra

☆ Eutelsat OneWeb gets Indian go-ahead for satellite broadband services
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-21 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

BENGALURU, Nov 21 (Reuters) - Eutelsat (ETL.PA) subsidiary Eutelsat OneWeb said on Tuesday it had won approval from India's space regulator to launch commercial satellite broadband services in the country. Prime Minister Modi's government, which is heading for elections next year, is pushing the development of India's space industry. Investors poured $119 million into Indian space startups in 2022, up from a total of just $38 million in all the years up to 2017. In March, OneWeb partnered with Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) to launch 36 satellites. Amazon's Project Kuiper (AMZN.O) has also been in talks with regulators to offer satellite broadband services in India, the Economic Times newspaper reported last month.

Persons: Eutelsat OneWeb, Modi's, Sunil Bharti Mittal, Eutelsat, Mittal's, Mittal, OneWeb, Elon Musk's Starlink, Nivedita, Kanjyik Ghosh, Alexander Smith Organizations: Mittal's Bharti Enterprises, Airtel, Indian Space Research Organization, ISRO, Reuters, Ambani's, Economic Times, Thomson Locations: BENGALURU, India, Bengaluru

☆ Indian billionaire Ambani's Reliance Retail to raise $598 mln from ADIA
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-06 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

REUTERS/Amit Dave/File Photo Acquire Licensing RightsBENGALURU, Oct 6 (Reuters) - Billionaire Mukesh Ambani's Reliance Retail Ventures said on Friday it would raise 49.67 billion rupees ($598 million) from the Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, in the latest bet on India's largest retailer ahead of a potential stock market listing. "Reliance Retail has demonstrated strong growth and adaptability in a market that is evolving at an unprecedented pace," said Hamad Shahwan Aldhaheri, executive director of the private equities department at ADIA. The investment comes as Reliance set an internal target to raise $3.5 billion. ADIA and Singapore's GIC had invested $664 million each into the retail unit in 2020 as Reliance sold a 10.09% stake at a valuation of 4.68 trillion rupees. Morgan Stanley acted as financial adviser to Reliance Retail Ventures for the ADIA deal.

Persons: Amit Dave, Mukesh, Hamad Shahwan Aldhaheri, Singapore's GIC, Ambani, Morgan Stanley, Chris Thomas, Maju Samuel Organizations: Reliance Industries, REUTERS, Rights, Retail Ventures, Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, ADIA, Reliance, KKR, Qatar Investment Authority, Reuters, Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund, Reliance Retail Ventures, Thomson Locations: Ahmedabad, India, Abu Dhabi, ADIA, Singapore, Saudi Arabia, Bengaluru

The private equity firm's follow-on investment translates into an additional equity stake of 0.25% in Reliance Retail on a fully-diluted basis, taking KKR's total equity stake in the Indian company to 1.42%, the retailer said in a statement on Monday. That year, KKR had invested 55.5 billion rupees ($669.65 million) in Reliance Retail. Morgan Stanley acted as financial adviser to Reliance Retail. Ambani said in 2019 that the group planned to list the retail business in five years. Reliance Retail reported a consolidated net profit of 91.81 billion rupees ($1.11 billion) for the financial year that ended in March 2023, on revenue of 2.6 trillion rupees.

Persons: Maggi, Niharika Kulkarni, Mukesh Ambani's, Jimmy Choo, Spencer, Pret, Ambani, Morgan Stanley, Aditya Kalra, Toby Chopra, Tomasz Janowski, Deepa Babington Organizations: REUTERS, KKR, Co Inc, Retail Ventures, Reliance, Reliance Retail, Saudi Public Investment Fund, General Atlantic, United Arab, Asian, IV, Reuters, Qatar Investment Authority, Unilever, Thomson Locations: Mumbai, India, DELHI, United Arab Emirates

Reliance, whose interest in making semiconductors has not been previously reported, did not respond to repeated requests for comment. India's IT ministry and Prime Minister Narendra Modi's office also did not respond to requests for comment. The country does not as yet have any chip manufacturing plants, although India's Vedanta (VDAN.NS) and Taiwan's Foxconn (2317.TW) are both looking at building facilities. India's government has forecast the domestic chip market will be worth $80 billion by 2028 compared with $23 billion currently. But chip manufacturing is an industry that has historically been beset with boom and bust cycles and requires much expertise.

Persons: Amit Dave, Mukesh, Narendra Modi's, Modi, Vedanta, Taiwan's Foxconn, Arun Mampazhy, –, Foxconn, Munsif Vengattil, Aditya Kalra, Edwina Gibbs Organizations: Reliance Industries, Gujarat Global Trade, REUTERS, Reliance, Google, U.S, Vedanta, Ventures, Semiconductor, Intel, Orbit Ventures, Thomson Locations: Gujarat, Gandhinagar, India, DELHI, Abu Dhabi

[1/2] A view shows packets of snacks on the shelves inside a Haldiram's restaurant in Mumbai, India, September 6, 2023. Tata Consumer shares surged and closed nearly 4% higher in Mumbai trade after Reuters reported news of the talks. The potential acquisition represents an exciting opportunity for Tata, the person said, adding: "Tata (Consumer) is seen as a tea company. A spokesperson for Tata Consumer Products said it "does not comment on market speculation". The $10 billion valuation sought by Haldiram's for the deal translates to 6.6 times its annual revenue of $1.5 billion, sources said.

Persons: Sriram, Tata, Mukesh Ambani's, Tetley, Haldiram's, Krishan Kumar Chutani, Bain, Ankur Bisen, Manohar Lal Agrawal, Aditya Kalra, Chris Thomas, Edwina Gibbs, Alexandra Hudson Organizations: REUTERS, India Tata, Tata, Pepsi, Bain Capital, Tata Consumer Products, Starbucks, Tata Consumer, Reuters, Haldiram's, Euromonitor International, Tata Group, CNBC TV18, Bikaji Foods, Alexandra Hudson Our, Thomson Locations: Mumbai, India, MUMBAI, DELHI, Singapore, United States, Bikaji

That implies a potential $2.5 billion investment will be equivalent to a 2.5% stake in the company. "Several marquee global strategic and financial investors have shown strong interest in Reliance Retail. Ambani said in 2019 that the group planned to list the retail business in five years. Reliance Retail has more than 18,000 retail outlets, but also a growing e-commerce operation where it competes with the likes of Amazon (AMZN.O) and Walmart's (WMT.N) Flipkart. Reliance Retail reported a consolidated net profit of 91.81 billion Indian rupees ($1.11 billion) for the financial year that ended in March 2023, on revenue of 2.6 trillion rupees.

Persons: Ambani, Mukesh Ambani's, Reliance, Morgan Stanley, QIA, Ambani's, Isha Ambani, Aditya Kalra, Scott Murdoch, Sriram, Munsif Vengattil, Susan Fenton Organizations: Retail Ventures, Reuters, Qatar Investment Authority, India's, Burberry, Reliance, Reliance Retail, KKR, Saudi Public Investment Fund, General Atlantic, United Arab, Unilever, Thomson Locations: SYDNEY, Qatar, U.S, China, United Arab Emirates, New Delhi, Sydney, Mumbai

☆ India's Jio launches Netflix subscription on prepaid plans
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-18 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

[1/2] A man walks across the LED board showing the logo of Jio at the ongoing India Mobile Congress 2022, at Pragati Maidan, in New Delhi, India, October 3, 2022. REUTERS/Anushree Fadnavis/File Photo Acquire Licensing RightsAug 18 (Reuters) - Reliance Jio Infocomm, the telecom arm of Indian billionaire Mukesh Ambani's Reliance Industries (RELI.NS), said on Friday it has launched a Netflix subscription on prepaid plans. Jio said that around 400 million prepaid customers will get the option of availing a Netflix subscription through two packages, one priced at 1,099 rupees ($13.23), which will give access to Netflix on mobile platforms, and the other for 1,499 rupees, providing access to a basic package for large screens. Jio's peers, Bharti Airtel (BRTI.NS) and Vodafone Idea (VODA.NS), provide subscription to the Disney+ Hotstar streaming service through prepaid bundled plans. ($1 = 83.0797 Indian rupees)Reporting by Ashna Teresa Britto; Editing by Sonia CheemaOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Persons: Anushree, Mukesh, Jio, Tony Zameczkowski, Ashna Teresa Britto, Sonia Cheema Organizations: Mobile, REUTERS, Reliance Industries, Netflix, Bharti Airtel, Vodafone, Disney, Jio, Thomson Locations: Pragati, New Delhi, India

☆ Reliance Retail to launch $200-laptop to replicate phone success
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-31 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

BENGALURU, July 31 (Reuters) - India's Reliance Retail will launch a $200 laptop next month as the Mukesh Ambani-owned retailer looks to repeat the success of its low-cost cell phone. The 4G-enabled laptop, called JioBook, is priced at 16,499 rupees ($200.63) and will be available for purchase through the company-run retail outlets and online platform Reliance Digital from Aug. 5. Last October, Reuters had reported citing sources that JioBook will be produced locally by contract manufacturer Flex. Its wireless venture Jio Infocomm upended the Indian mobile market with cheap internet plans in 2016. ($1 = 82.2350 Indian rupees)Reporting by Hritam Mukherjee in Bengaluru; Editing by Dhanya Ann ThoppilOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Persons: Mukesh Ambani, Infocomm, Hritam Mukherjee, Dhanya Ann Thoppil Organizations: Reliance, Reuters, Flex, Thomson Locations: BENGALURU, Bengaluru

REUTERS/Anushree Fadnavis/File PhotoBENGALURU, July 20 (Reuters) - Jio Financial Services (JFS) has been valued at around $20 billion after its stock price was set at a much higher-than-expected 261.85 rupees ($3.19) in its demerger from Indian billionaire Mukesh Ambani's Reliance Industries (RELI.NS). At a $20 billion valuation, Jio Financial would be one of the top 40 Indian companies by market capitalisation, in a list headed by Reliance at $233 billion. The price was determined as 261.85 rupees, or the difference between 2,841.85 rupees, Reliance's closing price on Wednesday, and 2,580 rupees, its price at the end of the special session. JFS's stock price is higher than analysts' estimate of 160 rupees to 190 rupees. Reliance Strategic Investments, the unit to be renamed JFS, late on Wednesday reported a net profit after tax of 1.45 billion rupees ($17.7 million) for April-June based on revenue of 2.15 billion rupees.

Persons: Anushree, Mukesh, Chokkalingam, JFS, Ira Dugal, Savio Shetty, Savio D'Souza, Jamie Freed Organizations: Mobile, REUTERS, Jio Financial, Reliance Industries, Reliance, Macquarie Research, AAA, Reliance Strategic Investments, Thomson Locations: Pragati, New Delhi, India, BENGALURU

☆ Reliance - Jio Financial Services demerger: what you need to know
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-19 | by ( Chris Thomas | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

Five analysts estimate that Reliance's Jio Financial Services will be valued at 160-190 rupees per share. However, Jio Financial Services' stock will be included in the indexes, including the blue-chip Nifty 50 (.NSEI), but will not trade until it is listed. Jio Financial Services' listing date is widely expected to be announced at Reliance's forthcoming annual general meeting. THE DEMERGERReliance announced last October that it would demerge and list its financial services business - Reliance Strategic Investments - which will be renamed Jio Financial Services (JFS). Reliance shareholders would get one share of Jio Financial Services for holding one share of Reliance.

Persons: Mukesh, Hitesh Sethia, Chris Thomas, Anil D'Silva Organizations: Reliance Industries, Jio Financial, Reliance, National Stock Exchange, Bombay, Exchange, Jio Financial Services, NSE, DEMERGER Reliance, Reliance Strategic Investments, Kamath, ICICI Bank, Macquarie Research, AAA, Thomson Locations: BENGALURU, Bengaluru

☆ India's Adani mulls bidding for Anil Ambani's bankrupt coal plants, Bloomberg reports
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-11 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

July 11 (Reuters) - Indian billionaire Gautam Adani is considering a bid for the bankrupt coal-fired power plants belonging to industrialist Anil Ambani, Bloomberg News reported on Tuesday, citing people familiar with the matter. Ambani's Reliance Power Ltd (RPOL.NS) will also likely make an offer to win back control of the firm, the report added. Last week, Adani Green Energy Ltd (ADNA.NS) approved raising 123 billion rupees ($1.49 billion), while two other Adani group companies - Adani Transmission (ADAI.NS) and Adani Enterprises (ADEL.NS) - had in May outlined plans to raise funds totalling $2.57 billion. Adani's bids are aimed at strengthening the company's growing portfolio of coal power projects, the report said. Adani Enterprises or Reliance Power did not immediately respond to a Reuters' request for comment.

Persons: Gautam Adani, Anil Ambani, Ambani, Adani, Jose Joseph, Kashish Tandon, Sohini Goswami Organizations: Bloomberg, Vidarbha Industries Power Ltd, Ambani's Reliance Power, Green Energy Ltd, Adani Enterprises, Hindenburg Research, Reliance, Thomson Locations: Vidarbha, Nagpur, Maharashtra, Bengaluru

☆ Billionaire Ambani's Reliance Jio renews rural India push with $12 4G phone
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-03 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

July 3 (Reuters) - Reliance Jio said on Monday it would launch a 4G feature phone priced at 999 rupees ($12.19), the latest attempt by billionaire Mukesh Ambani's telecom arm to grab market share in India's massive and under-penetrated hinterlands. "There are still 250 million mobile phone users in India who remain 'trapped' in the 2G era, ... at a time when the world stands at the cusp of a 5G revolution," Akash Ambani, chairman of Reliance Jio, said in a statement. Currently, 4G feature phones account for less than 1% of the feature phone sales in India, per Counterpoint Research. "Feature phone to smartphone transition has slowed down due to high learning curve for a lot of rural Indian users and Jio Bharat aims to bridge that gap," said Tarun Pathak, analyst at Counterpoint Research. Feature phones are models that have higher functionalities than basic devices but falls short of the capabilities of a smartphone.

Persons: Jio, Mukesh, Akash Ambani, Bharat, Tarun Pathak, Pathak, Ashna Teresa Britto, Indranil Sarkar, Chris Thomas, Nivedita Bhattacharjee, Dhanya Ann Thoppil Organizations: Reliance, Vodafone, Bharti Airtel, IIFL Securities, Counterpoint Research, Reliance Industries, Google, Thomson Locations: Jio, India

☆ India's gearing up to be the new China, but even Elon Musk is finding it hard to crack into the market. Here are 5 reasons why.
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-28 | by ( Huileng Tan | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +7 min

India has overtaken China as the world's most populous country, and it's pushing for foreign investments. But foreign investors keen to enter the Indian market face various barriers to entry. Earlier this year, India overtook China as the world's most populous country. Among investors keen on investing in India are Tesla and SpaceX CEO Elon Musk, and tech giant Apple. But given the huge Indian market, Tesla isn't giving up.

Persons: —, Narendra Modi's, Elon Musk, Mark Mobius, Modi —, Modi, Musk, Ashutosh Sharma, Forrester, That's, Sharma, India's, Mukesh Ambani Organizations: Service, India, Indian, Tesla, SpaceX, US International Trade Administration, ITA, Bank, World Bank, US, Reliance Industries SpaceX, Reliance, Reuters, Ambani's Locations: India, China

☆ Amazon raises investment in India to $26 bln by 2030
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-24 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

[1/2] A man walks past a logo of Amazon Prime Video during a launch event in Mumbai, India, April 28, 2022. Earlier, Amazon had announced a $6.5 billion investment plan, largely to boost its e-commerce business where it competes with Walmart's Flipkart and billionaire Mukesh Ambani's Reliance Retail. The new investment amount committed now comes to around an additional $6.5 billion. The e-commerce giant's announced investment during Modi's trip adds to other companies, including U.S. semiconductor toolmaker Applied Materials and memory chip firm Micron Technology, which have made commitments during the Indian prime minister's state visit. Modi and Jassy spoke about supporting Indian startups, creating jobs, enabling exports, digitisation, and empowering individuals and small businesses to compete globally, an Amazon blog post said.

Persons: Francis Mascarenhas, Andy Jassy, Narendra Modi, Jassy, Walmart's Flipkart, Mukesh Ambani's, Modi, Sundar Pichai, Tim Cook, Google's, Satya Nadella, Aditya Kalra, William Mallard, Jacqueline Wong, Toby Chopra Organizations: Amazon Prime, REUTERS, Amazon.com Inc, Web Services, Amazon, giant's, Micron Technology, Google, Reuters, Twitter, U.S, Thomson Locations: Mumbai, India, DELHI, United States, U.S, City, India's, Gujarat, Washington

☆ Elon Musk wants to bring Starlink to the Indian market — but he'll have to get around India's richest tycoon first
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-23 | by ( Huileng Tan | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Elon Musk said he hopes to bring SpaceX's Starlink satellite internet service to India. SpaceX is lobbying the government to assign licenses for satellite services, but Reliance is calling for a public auction. Elon Musk is eyeing the massive Indian market, saying he hopes to bring SpaceX's Starlink satellite internet service into the country after meeting with Prime Minister Narendra Modi earlier this week. Musk told reporters on Tuesday he was keen to launch Starlink in India as the service "can be incredibly helpful" in remote villages, per India's ANI agency. Reliance Jio vs. StarlinkThe two companies have different stances on how the Indian government's satellite broadband spectrum should be distributed, Reuters reported.

Persons: Elon Musk, He's, Mukesh Ambani, Narendra Modi, Musk, Ambani, Tesla, China, Modi —, — Organizations: Asia's, Reliance, SpaceX, Morning, Reliance Industries, He's, Bloomberg, Ambani's Reliance, Reuters, Ambani's, US International Trade Administration, ITA Locations: India, India's, China, Indian

[1/2] The Starlink logo is seen in front of the Indian flag in this illustration taken, June 21, 2023. The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India, OneWeb and Starlink parent SpaceX, did not respond. Deloitte says India's satellite broadband service market will grow 36% a year to reach $1.9 billion by 2030. Starlink is waiting for clarity on India's spectrum allocation before firming up its commercial strategy, another source said. "I'd expect Starlink to make high-profile free offers elsewhere in order to try and demonstrate what India could be missing out on," he said.

Persons: Dado Ruvic, Starlink, India's Ambani, Elon Musk, Mukesh Ambani, Narendra Modi, Musk, Ambani, OneWeb, Tim Farrar, Aditya Kalra, Munsif Vengattil, Aditi Shah, Raju Gopalakrishnan Organizations: REUTERS, DELHI, Reliance, Indian, Ambani's, Telecom Regulatory Authority of, SpaceX, Reuters, Deloitte, Foreign, TMF Associates, Thomson Locations: India, U.S, Telecom Regulatory Authority of India

REUTERS/Anushree Fadnavis/File PhotoSummarySummary Companies Reliance's JioCinema to lock horns with Netflix, DisneyWarner deal to boost English content, local content in focus tooExecutives say Warner deal will boost Reliance streaming plansJioCinema content quality key to beat rivals, analyst saysMUMBAI, April 28 (Reuters) - The video streaming business of Mukesh Ambani, Asia's richest person, is likely to focus on pricing and local content following a deal with Warner Bros as it seeks to challenge the likes of Disney and Netflix, industry sources said. While Netflix and other rivals boast of content specially created for the India audience, JioCinema's current free offerings largely include old Hindi and local language movies. The big challenge is lack of fresh local and global content on JioCinema, something that will be become even more critical as the IPL season ends next month. They have also diversified into regional local language content. The only way to scale up is to really differentiate your content and make sure execution is right," he said.

☆ Indian carrier Reliance Jio's profit, rev growth hit five-qtr low
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-21 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

BENGALURU, April 21 (Reuters) - Reliance Jio Infocomm Ltd, the telecom arm of Indian billionaire Mukesh Ambani's Reliance Industries Ltd (RELI.NS), reported its slowest profit and revenue growth in five quarters on Friday, due to higher expenses and lack of recent tariff hikes. Jio, India's biggest telecom carrier by subscribers, said net profit rose 13% to 47.16 billion rupees ($574.8 million) in the three months ended March 31, from 41.73 billion rupees a year ago. Its revenue from operations grew 11.9% to 233.94 billion rupees. Jio's revenue growth has been around 23% to 29% in the last four quarters, while profit has increased by 18% to 21%. ($1 = 82.0420 Indian rupees)Reporting by Rama Venkat in Bengaluru;Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ James Murdoch's Bodhi Tree slashes planned investment in Reliance JV Viacom18
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-14 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

BENGALURU, April 14 (Reuters) - Bodhi Tree, a joint venture between James Murdoch and a former Star India executive, has reduced its planned investment in Reliance's (RELI.NS) broadcast venture Viacom18 by 70% and will now pump in 43.06 billion rupees ($527.84 million), Viacom18 said late on Thursday. Indian billionaire Mukesh Ambani's Reliance Industries had said in April last year that Qatar Investment Authority-backed Bodhi Tree would spend 135 billion rupees out of a planned 151.45 billion rupees investment in the media behemoth that is also backed by Paramount Global (PARA.O). Reliance is now leading the investment with a 108.39 billion rupees infusion. A source familiar with the matter said the investment amount was reduced due to a broader funding squeeze amid a slowdown in dealmaking. Reliance, which is expanding in every sector from retail to ecommerce, made its big splash in the Indian streaming space last year, with its acquisition of digital streaming rights for the Indian Premier League T20 cricket tournament from 2023 to 2027.

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