Reliance Industries Overview

Company 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.

Historical Milestones

1958–1980

• 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.

1981–2000

• 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.

2001 Onwards

• 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.