Facebook deal to help RIL to be debt-free by March 2021: Credit Suisse

Reliance Industries Ltd’s (RIL) deal with tech giant Facebook will help the Indian company to be become net debt-free by March 2021, according to a report by Credit Suisse.

Facebook’s investment of ₹43,574 crore in Jio platforms is the largest FDI minority investment in India.

As of December 31, 2019, net debt for the group stands at ₹1,53,100 crore (₹1,531 billion), and with Facebook’s investment, this should put RIL on course to be net debt-free by March 2021, it said.

On Wednesday, Facebook announced an investment of ₹43,574 crore ($5.7 billion) for a 9.99 per cent minority stake in Jio Platforms. The deal follows the restructuring announced in October 2019, when RIL transferred ₹1,08,000 crore of debt from Jio to a standalone entity and leaving liabilities of ₹64,000 crore (spectrum liabilities and capex creditors) at Jio.