Reliance Industries raised $1 billion in investment from two sovereign wealth funds, a move for the oil-reliant company to diversify from its staple business.
Bloomberg reported, the Abu Dhabi Investment Authority (ADIA) and Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund (PIF) will each invest INR37.8 billion ($507 million) to buy units of the Indian company’s Digital Fibre Infrastructure Trust.
Reliance said in a post-earnings presentation it saw the “induction of strong partners” in what it called a “critical asset base”.
The company has so far raised $25 billion from big investors such as Facebook and Google.
ADIA and PIF are returning investors, with ADIA investing over $750 million rupees in Reliance’s retail arm in October and $752 million in Jio Platforms. PIF put up $1.5 billion for Jio Platforms in June.
Bloomberg noted the company’s diversification is key to its future with the group reporting a quarterly drop in profit, due to a plunge in demand for transportation and aviation fuel, but this was cushioned by the company’s telecoms and retails divisions.
Last month Reliance announced plans to separate its Jio mobile business into a new company and invest $25 billion into it, to cut its massive debt and prepare for an IPO within five years.
