Facebook Looking for Legal Advice on India’s Foreign Direct Investment

Social media moghul Facebook turns towards China and Hong Kong for legal advice on FDI. After finalizing the deal with Reliance Jio for a whopping $5.7 billion, Facebook wishes to get some legal advice. The social media platform that is based out of the United States is turning towards Hong Kong and China, since there are numerous stakeholders based in that location.

Hedge funds, financial institutions and shareholders of Facebook are majorly based in Mainland China and Hong Kong. Facebook is also consulting the major consultancy firms like, PriceWaterhouseCoopers, Ernst & Young, Deloitte, and KPMG to get advise on the “beneficial ownership”.

The govt. of India has also tightened the foreign direct investment with stringent guidelines. All of it is majorly done to stop the opportunistic acquisitions by investors from China. The preliminary screening process is also initiated which includes investment activities from Nepal, China, Pakistan, Bangladesh, and Myanmar. The newly laid out norms are also applicable on the “transfer of ownership of any form of existing or future FDI in an entity in India, both directly as well as indirectly.

CCI will be thoroughly scrutinizing the Reliance Jio Platform and Facebook’s deal. Meanwhile Facebook is clearing out the path for the potential FDI approval. Reliance’s Jio Platform has raised INR 1.15 Lakh Cr from global investors like Facebook, Silver Lake, Vista Equity Partners, General Atlantic, KKR, Mubadala, Abu Dhabi Investment Authority (ADIA), TPG, Public Investment Firm (PIF) and L Catterton in 58 days, as per the Inc42 report. There is still examination pending on the matter of Jio and Facebook investment on which CCI chairman has not commented.