Jio Fin’s Arm Mulls Snapping Up Telecom Equipment Worth $4.32 Bn From Reliance Retail

Jio Financial Services’ arm Jio Leasing Services Ltd (JLSL) is planning to buy customer premises equipment, devices and telecom equipment worth $4.32 Bn from Reliance Retail over the next two fiscal years.

JLSL is entering the device-as-a-service (DaaS) market, leasing telecom devices and offering associated services to Reliance Jio Infocomm customers.

The pricing for the purchase will be on cost plus margin.

Jio Financial Services has sought approval for the deal. “Approval of the members is being sought for the aforesaid and allied transactions during the 5 financial years i.e., from FY2023-24 to FY2027-28,” the company said in a postal ballot notice.

Jio Financial Services also plans to offer its payment aggregator and gateway services to Jio Platforms and Reliance Retail.

Meanwhile, Jio Financial Services has sought shareholders’ approval to raise the limit of foreign investment in its equity capital up to 49%. JFS is also seeking the shareholder nod for conversion into a core investment company, which would allow it to raise funds via the government approval route.

Jio Financial said it has also submitted an application to the Reserve Bank of India to convert into a core investment company (CIC) from an NBFC. Foreign investment in a CIC is permitted under the government approval route.

In April, Jio Financial signed a joint venture agreement with the US-based investment giant BlackRock to launch wealth management and broking businesses. Last year, the companies formed a JV to enter the Indian asset management space with an initial investment of $300 Mn.

Jio Financial Services saw almost a 6% rise in its consolidated net profit to INR 311 Cr in Q4 of FY24 from INR 294 Cr in the previous quarter. The company’s operating revenue saw a marginal increase to INR 418 Cr in the reported quarter compared from INR 414 Cr in Q3 FY24.

JFS’ increased profit was largely driven by an increase in share of profit of associates and joint ventures and lower tax expenses. The company is yet to launch operations in a major way though it has signed deals and made announcements about its various verticals.