View: Be wary of Facebook’s stake in Jio Platforms

Facebook’s blockbuster deal for a 9.9% stake in telco Reliance Jio is inexplicable at best, and alarming at worst. The valuation of $5.7 billion for a minority stake in Jio Platforms, which makes the Reliance-owned company worth nearly $66 billion, comes amid the deepest economic uncertainty of our lifetimes.

It’s a bet on Reliance’s tepid offering: retail. Facebook shareholders ought to sit up and take note. And given Facebook’s data privacy record, Indian users ought to be wary.