CCI may ping Google for information on its 7.73% stake in Jio Platforms

Mumbai | New Delhi: The Competition Commission of India (CCI) is set to ask Google whether the US Internet giant’s purchase of a 7.73% stake in Jio Platforms would entail any sharing of data in a way that could stymie competition, especially in the handset industry, said people familiar with the matter, including lawyers and government officials. “The CCI is likely to ask Google to explain details of data sharing with Jio. In many countries, the regulatory bodies are doing these cross checks when a big player strikes a deal, which will be happening in this case as well,” said a person aware of the development. The competition watchdog had sought similar information from Facebook as well before giving its clearance recently to the social media company’s investment in Jio Platforms, the Reliance Industries unit that holds mobile services operator Reliance Jio and other digital businesses of the Indian group.Google moved the commission in September seeking approval for its Rs 33,737 crore investment in Jio Platforms and a commercial pact to jointly develop entry-level Android smartphones. 78611383The application is currently under review. Google, Jio and CCI didn’t respond until press time Sunday to ET’s emails seeking comment. Among the things being studied by the CCI are how much of Google’s investment in Jio Platforms would go into handset development and manufacturing, said a second person. Another person said the CCI had already reached out to various stakeholders, including device makers, to understand the market and the possible implications the deal could have on the rest of the handset industry. “Since most handset makers use Android as a platform, the CCI is trying to understand if any arrangements between Jio and Google could be exclusive, thus what it means in terms of access to Google's software for other device makers, especially at a time when the government is trying to make India a smartphone manufacturing hub and has come out with an incentive scheme. Does this (deal) mean other handset makers could suffer because of an arrangement between the two,” this person said. The CCI seeks clarifications from companies during the assessment process, a government official said. Apart from pre-filing consultations, the applicants require to provide substantial information on the deals, he added.

from Economic Times https://ift.tt/3nGFLYg