BlackRock Returns To India In A Joint Venture With Mukesh Ambani’s Jio Financial Services

BlackRock and Jio Financial Services are entering a 50-50 partnership to launch their asset management services in India

World’s largest money manager BlackRock has entered into a joint venture with Indian tycoon Mukesh Ambani’s Jio Financial Services. The companies are targeting an initial investment of $150 million in a 50-50 partnership to launch their asset management services in India, BlackRock stated in a statement on their website on Wednesday. 

Hoping to find footing in India’s rapidly growing financial sector, this is BlackRock’s second attempt to capture the Indian market after it exited a joint venture with local financial firm DSP Group in 2018, as per a report by CNBC. 

The joint venture will be called Jio BlackRock and comes on the heels of Jio Financial Services’ demerger from its parent company Reliance Industries. 

BlackRock CEO and chairman, Larry Fink, said, “Today marks a major move for BlackRock as we work to expand our footprint through a forthcoming joint venture in India with Jio Financial Services, a company built by Reliance Industries Limited”, in his LinkedIn post. 

Hitesh Sethia, CEO of Jio Financial Services, added, “The partnership will leverage BlackRock’s deep expertise in investment and risk management along with the technology capability and deep market expertise of JFS to drive digital delivery of products”, in the company’s statement. 

The companies aim to use the “digital-first” offering to democratise access to investment solutions for Indian investors, the statement noted. Fink also stated that the joint venture will “deliver our combines expertise and scale to unlock the power of investing for millions of people in India”. 

Rachel Lord, Chair & Head of APAC, BlackRock, said, “India represents an enormously important opportunity. The convergence of rising affluence, favourable demographics, and digital transformation across industries is reshaping the market in incredible ways. We are very excited to be partnering with JFS to revolutionise India’s asset management industry and transform financial futures. Jio BlackRock will place the combined strength and scale of both of our companies in the hands of millions of investors in India.”

The joint venture will be launched after clearing regulatory and statutory approvals.