BlackRock and India’s Jio Financial Services Join Forces

BlackRock and India’s Jio Financial Services will soon enter a joint venture to launch a “digital-first offering” in India. Today, the world’s largest asset manager, BlackRock, announced it would join Jio Financial Services (JFS) in a 50:50 joint venture to launch asset management services in India. Joi Financial Services is part of Indian tycoon Mukesh Ambani’s Reliance Industries. The venture, named “Joi BlackRock,” will see each company invest $150 million in the project and aims to offer “tech-enabled” access to “affordable, innovative investment solutions” to millions of Indian investors. Today’s press release said the project would combine BlackRock’s “scale and investment expertise with Joi Financial Services’ knowledge and resources” to transform India’s asset management industry through a digital-first offering. Hitesh Sethia, President and CEO of JFS, commented: “This is an exciting partnership between JFS and BlackRock, one of the largest and most respected asset management companies globally. 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. Jio BlackRock will be a truly transformational, customer centric and digital-first enterprise with the vision to democratise access to financial investment solutions and deliver financial well-being to the doorstep of every Indian.” Rachel Lord, Chair and Head of APAC for 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.” BlackRock Makes Waves The assets manager recently made headlines when it announced it had applied to a Bitcoin spot exchange-traded fund (ETF). If the SEC approves it, BlackRock’s iShares ETF will become the first crypto spot ETF in the US. The firm is, however, facing obstacles in the form of the SEC, and was forced to refile its application after the securities agency took issue with it. Disclaimer: This article is provided for informational purposes only. It is not offered or intended to be used as legal, tax, investment, financial, or other advice.