<div><span style="font-size: 1rem;">Indian billionaire Mukesh Ambani on Monday announced an investment of $25 billion to launch 5G networks in India, aiming to strengthen his grip on one of the world's fastest-growing smartphone markets.</span><br></div><div><br></div><div>In his annual speech delivered virtually to shareholders of Reliance Industries -- India's most valuable company -- Asia's second-richest person said he believes "digital freedom is the birthright of every Indian".</div><div><br></div><div>Ambani's multi-billion-dollar empire was built on oil and petrochemicals, but he has diversified into new areas including telecoms, retail and renewable energy in recent years.</div><div><br></div><div>The launch of telecom arm Jio -- offering ultra-cheap data at high speeds -- in 2016 sparked a brutal price war, forcing competitors into years of losses.</div><div><br></div><div>Earlier this month, Jio swept up more than a third of the available spectrum in India's first-ever 5G airwave auction, bidding 881 billion rupees ($11 billion).</div><div><br></div><div>Announcing an investment of two trillion rupees ($25 billion), Ambani said Jio will launch 5G services in major cities including Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata and Chennai in time for the Indian festival of Diwali in late October.</div><div><br></div><div>A pan-India roll-out will follow, Ambani said, with an aim to cover every district in the country by December 2023 -- an area of 3.3 million square kilometres.</div><div><br></div><div>"We are committed to make India the largest data-powered economy in the world, even ahead of China and the United States. Jio 5G will be the world's largest and most advanced 5G network," Ambani said.</div><div><br></div><div>Global tech giants such as Google, Facebook owner Meta, Intel and Qualcomm have invested billions of dollars into Reliance's digital unit Jio Platforms in recent years.</div><div><br></div><div>A newly-launched collaboration between Meta and Jio will allow users to shop for groceries via instant messaging app WhatsApp, Ambani said.</div><div><br></div><div>"This is our first-ever end-to-end shopping experience on WhatsApp -- people can now buy groceries from JioMart right in a chat," Facebook founder and Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg said in a Facebook post.</div><div><br></div><div>In June, Ambani's 30-year-old son Akash was appointed chairman of Jio Infocomm, a subsidiary of Jio Platforms, sparking speculation about succession planning.</div><div><br></div><div>Ambani stopped short of announcing leadership changes at Monday's AGM, instead asking shareholders to extend their blessings to his three children Isha, Akash and Anant.</div><div><br></div><div>The 65-year-old business tycoon was until this year Asia's richest person but was unseated by fellow Indian billionaire Gautam Adani.</div><div><br></div><div>India is home to the second-highest number of smartphone users after China.</div><div><br></div><div>The country's long-delayed 5G push comes as the world's sixth-largest economy tries to bridge a technology gap with rivals such as South Korea, China and the United States.</div><div><br></div><div>Shares in Reliance Industries closed 0.69 percent lower in Mumbai following the announcements. Accoridng to AFP reports.</div><div><br></div><div>bnbd24/fas</div>