Book of faces

EDITORIAL

Facebook’s $5billion IPO is surely the most talked about event in the financial world these days. As the world’s largest social networking site prepares to go public, making it one of the biggest US market debuts ever, everyone is waiting with great eagerness for what is being touted as an ‘iconic’ IPO, the likes of which the world hasn’t possibly seen before. Everyone is talking about the numbers that it would generate and the millionaires that it would create. But what Indians should also be talking about is the opportunity that this presents for them. Owning a slice of everyone’s favourite social network could be a dream investment for anyone in this country. With Indians now officially the largest users of Facebook outside the US — there were 46 million monthly active users from India as of December 31, 2011, an increase of 132 per cent from the previous year — there’s no reason why they should not also be equally active investors in the global phenomenon. Indians can participate in the mega share offering, by opening an account with any of the book-running banks, as reported by Financial Chronicle last week. With liberalised remittance norms, all resident Indians are allowed to remit up to $2,00,000 per financial year for any permissible current or capital account transaction or a combination of both, which means Indians can invest both in overseas equities and bonds. The conditions, therefore, are quite conducive for Indians to step into this venture. Indians in fact, have a much deeper engagement with the social networking giant than just an everyday addiction. If controversies are to be believed, an Indian brain was behind the creation of the online community concept. Divya Narendra, an Indian-American entrepreneur, along with twin brothers Camreon Winklevoss and Tyler Winklevoss, sued Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg for allegedly stealing their original idea of an online community project. So there’s perhaps a lot more to the Indian obsession with online communities than what meets the eye — you might say, it owes a lot to our culture that is based on relationships and staying connected. Whatever it may be, now is the time for Indians to be a part of the online universe like never before. Facebook is not just a website, it stands for a much deeper and grander idea of a borderless state, a free society, a boundariless, limitless and discrimination-free universe. We already have a marked presence within this universe; there’s no reason why we shouldn’t get out there and begin to own parts of it, too. Besides the obvious financial gains that one stands to make, there is a considerable amount of prestige attached with the transaction, too. It’s all about an outstanding idea, about being a part of an utopian world. When Zuckerberg talks about taking the hacker’s way (Newsmaker of the week, Financial Chronicle Weekend), he clearly states his motive, his drive to adopt an approach that involves constant improvement. It means not being content with the status quo, but, looking at it from all possible angles to find that one tiny not-so-perfect chink that could be perfected with effort. In short, what it means is constant action. What it also means, and what Zuckerberg has reiterated, is ‘boldness’ as a core value, which is reflected in the timing of the company going public. Perhaps, these are the values that one would stand for, and, indeed, reflect by going in for acquiring a piece of Facebook. When India is emerging as a global leader in so many other areas, there’s really no reason why the country should remain behind in putting its own mark on this limitless expanse.