Mukesh Ambani's Big Balancing Act
Fortune India|April 2016

Reliance's refining and petrochem bussiness are on a roll, but Jio, its much - anticipated 4g mobile service, has been beset with doubts. Can Ambani secure it and his own reputation as the torchbearer of his father's legacy?

T. Surendar
Mukesh Ambani's Big Balancing Act

In the 2006 thriller DonShah Rukh Khan’s titular character reflects: “A few things in life are beyond profit-and-loss calculations. You just have to do them.” Khan, the brand ambassador of Reliance Jio, Mukesh Ambani’s big telecom bet, may well have foretold the billionaire’s current state of mind. Jio’s fourth-generation (4G) mobile network, hailed as a potential game changer in India’s telecom sector, has cost Ambani Rs 1.5 lakh crore and is yet to bring in a rupee in revenue. It has missed several launch deadlines since Ambani acquired spectrum six years ago.

There are serious questions about its viability given competitors like Airtel and Vodafone are entrenched deep in the market. But none of that has stopped Ambani from throwing his might behind the venture with the urgency of a make-or break personal mission.

Although Jio has been at the heart of intense speculation, because, well, it’s an Ambani project, little is known about its inner workings. Reliance Industries (RIL) remains as reticent as ever. No RIL executive, past or present, will discuss Jio on record because of non-disclosure agreements or simply for fear of the boss. But based on the accounts of several insiders who spoke on the condition of anonymity, Fortune India pieced together a picture of just how high the stakes are for the country’s richest man.

この記事は Fortune India の April 2016 版に掲載されています。

7 日間の Magzter GOLD 無料トライアルを開始して、何千もの厳選されたプレミアム ストーリー、9,000 以上の雑誌や新聞にアクセスしてください。

この記事は Fortune India の April 2016 版に掲載されています。

7 日間の Magzter GOLD 無料トライアルを開始して、何千もの厳選されたプレミアム ストーリー、9,000 以上の雑誌や新聞にアクセスしてください。