AMBANI'S QUANTUM LEAP

India's richest businessman is ramping up investments in 5G, green energy and FMCG.

- Nevin John

MUKESH AMBANI

WEALTH: ₹8,19,225 crore

RELIANCE INDUSTRIES CHAIRMAN Mukesh Ambani, who took almost seven years to firm up his foray into telecom, is not letting go of any emerging business opportunity of scale. Though he waited for a decade to turn around the retail business, for new ones such as renewable energy and financial services, Ambani has instructed his teams to avoid negative cash flows, even at the beginning. In short, he is looking to draw maximum value out of RIL’s mega capital expenditure programme of ₹3.5 lakh crore.

As wheels of change roll on in Reliance Industries (RIL), the patriarch is focusing on building new businesses — 5G, solar energy, financial services and FMCG — to expand his empire. The result of last round of investments in telecom, retail and oil & gas has made RIL the most profitable company in India — it posted a net profit of ₹73,670 crore in FY23, an 11.3% increase year-on-year. Due to its financial performance, Mukesh Ambani has topped this year’s Rich List with a net worth of ₹8.19 lakh crore.

For the next round of growth, Ambani has earmarked ₹2 lakh crore for 5G and ₹75,000 crore for building five renewable energy-focused Giga factories in Jamnagar, Gujarat. Another ₹75,000 crore will be spent on expanding petrochemical capacities by 2027. “Over the past two years, 98% of the company’s capex has been funded by internally generated cash profits. This has helped us maintain a strong and conservative balance sheet and retain superior investment grade ratings,” Ambani says in his latest letter to shareholders.