India-based Jio Financial Services is considering entering the device leasing business.
Reuters reported on Monday (May 27) that the financial services provider has issued a postal ballot notice, seeking shareholder approval for the acquisition of telecommunications equipment and devices worth 360 billion rupees ($4.33 billion) from Reliance Industries Ltd’s retail unit.
These devices include routers and mobile phones, according to the report.
According to reports, the Jio Financial Services subsidiary will rent out the equipment to customers of Reliance Jio Infocomm, Reliance’s telecoms unit, and will compete with companies such as Hewlett-Packard and Lenovo in the equipment rental market.
Voting on the proposal is reportedly set to close on June 22.
According to reports, Jio Financial Services is expected to be spun off from Reliance Group in 2023.
Reliance Industries, which also has businesses in retail, oil and textiles, listed its digital financial services unit Jio Financial Services, offering investors an opportunity to focus on fintech in general and digital lending in particular.
The move comes about a year after the multinational conglomerate’s billionaire boss, Mukesh Ambani, said the company would work on the spin-off and that Jio Financial Services would operate as “a technology-led business that leverages the nationwide omnichannel reach of Reliance’s consumer business to deliver financial products digitally.”
In another recent move, Geo Financial Services announced in April that it had formed a joint venture with BlackRock to set up an asset management and brokerage business in India.
The two companies, which launched their asset-management business less than a year ago, are aiming to tap into India’s growing number of retail investors as the country’s stock market hits an all-time high by setting up a brokerage.
As for Reliance, the company’s Reliance Retail division announced in October 2023 that it would partner with SBI Card to issue credit cards on India’s RuPay payments network.
The co-branded card marks Reliance’s entry into the credit card industry and is aimed at offering customer benefits at Reliance Retail’s 18,650 outlets.
The card has been launched at a time when credit card spending is booming, with cards on the RuPay network growing by nearly 20% year-on-year.
