Reliance Industries Overview

Reliance Industries Limited, headquartered in Mumbai, is a leading Indian multinational conglomerate.
Key sectors include energy, petrochemicals, natural gas, retail, telecommunications, and textiles.
It ranks as India’s largest public company by market capitalization and revenue, and is the 100th largest globally.
Reliance is the largest private taxpayer in India and significant in exports, accounting for 7% of national merchandise exports.
High corporate debt contrasts with relatively low free cash flow, raising concerns about financial stability.
Mukesh Ambani, the chairman, is considered a plutocrat amid controversies involving political corruption and exploitation claims.

Founded in 1958 by Dushyant Corporation as a small trading venture focusing on spices and polyester yarn.
Dhirubhai Ambani continued the polyester business after a partnership dissolution in 1965.
Established Reliance Textiles Industries Pvt. Ltd. in Maharashtra in 1966, and a synthetic fabrics mill in Gujarat.
Became Reliance Textiles Industries Limited on May 8, 1973, expanding into textiles with the "Vimal" brand.
The company went public in 1977, with the IPO oversubscribed by seven times.
Acquired Sidhpur Mills in 1979 and set up a Polyester Filament Yarn Plant in 1980 in Maharashtra.

Renamed to Reliance Industries Ltd. in 1985, with significant expansion in polyester yarn production.
Hazira petrochemical plant was commissioned in 1991–92, marking a crucial development in their petrochemical capacity.
Entered international capital markets with Reliance Petroleum in 1993.
Rated by international credit agencies in 1996, recognizing its financial progress.
Expanded into telecom through a joint venture in 1995, marking entry into the telecommunications industry.
Took over the Indian Petrochemicals Corporation Limited (IPCL) in 1998, enhancing its petrochemical footprint.
Constructed the world’s largest refinery in Jamnagar, Gujarat, between 1998-2000.

By 2001, became India’s largest company across major financial measures after merging Reliance Petroleum.
Announced a historic gas discovery at Krishna Godavari basin in 2002, with over 7 trillion cubic feet of natural gas.
Acquired a majority stake in IPCL, integrating its operations into Reliance by 2008.
Underwent a significant business reorganization in 2005-2006, separating power generation, financial services, and telecom.
Entered organized retail with Reliance Fresh in 2006, rapidly expanding to 600 stores by 2008.
Issued a 1:1 bonus share to shareholders in November 2009, demonstrating shareholder value commitment.
Expanded into broadband markets by acquiring Infotel Broadband Services Limited, winning a key 4G spectrum auction in 2010.