Jio Financial Services and BlackRock to create a 50:50 Joint Venture

27 Jul 2023 , 11:15 AM

Jio Financial Services Ltd. (JFS), the financial services division of Reliance Industries Ltd., and BlackRock have agreed to create a 50:50 joint venture to provide investment solutions.

The joint venture, to be known as Jio BlackRock, is aiming for an initial investment of $150 million from JFS and BlackRock apiece.

The companies hope to democratize access to financial solutions for Indian investors through the joint venture, which will focus on digital-first offerings.

‘The partnership will introduce a new player to the India market with a unique combination of scope, scale, and resources,’ the businesses said in a joint statement.

Following the completion of the $20 billion business demerger, RIL renamed the financial services company Reliance Strategic Investments as Jio Financial Services earlier on Wednesday.

According to Rachel Lord, chair and head of APAC at BlackRock, who talked to ET, ‘Jio BlackRock will put the combined strength and scale of both of our companies in the hands of millions of investors in India.’

Hitesh Sethia, President and CEO of JFS, told ET that the alliance will use BlackRock’s extensive investment and risk management skills as well as JFS’s technical capabilities and in-depth market expertise to boost product digital delivery.

After ending its joint venture with DSP by selling its 40% ownership to the partner, BlackRock has now partnered with JFS to re-enter the Indian asset management market.

One of the leading asset management companies in India at the time was DSP BlackRock Investment Managers. The stock market is waiting for the conglomerate to provide further information regarding the joint venture’s business goals.

Jio Financial has expressed interest in the loan industry as well as other financial services verticals like insurance, payments, digital broking, and asset management. Jio Financial is a digital-first company.

To complement and expand on the conventional credit bureau-based underwriting, JFL intends to introduce a consumer and merchant lending company based on proprietary data analytics.

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