Reliance Shares End Lower As Mukesh Ambani Offers No Details On Listing Of Jio, Other Businesses
Shares of RIL fell the most in a week as Mukesh Ambani skips announcements on listing of Reliance Jio, other businesses at AGM.
Shares of Reliance Industries Ltd. ended lower, after having withstood selling pressure through the day, as Mukesh Ambani didn't announce plans for a stake sale or listing of key group businesses including Reliance Jio Infocomm Ltd.
Ambani offered a road map on capex, 5G and succession while addressing shareholders at the 45th annual general meeting of Reliance Industries on Monday. While analysts had expected details on listing or stake sale in Reliance Jio, retail, oil-to-chemicals and new energy businesses, Ambani didn't announce anything on it. That weighed on the stock.
Shares of Reliance Industries had trimmed early losses, outperformed the benchmark Nifty 50 and even gained ahead of the conglomerate's annual general meeting. But it ended 0.8% lower, the worst fall in over a week. Trading volume was nearly twice the 30-day average when markets closed.
Group companies TV18 Broadcast and Network18 declined in a weak market, tracking a fall in global equities after the U.S. Federal Reserve emphasised the need to continue with monetary tightening to rein in inflation. Reliance Industrial Infrastructure Ltd. erased most of the losses.
Reliance Industries earmarked Rs 2 lakh crore for 5G network rollout as it plans to start services by Diwali, and cover all cities and towns by December 2023.
Reliance Industries is working with global technology heavyweights such as Google, Meta, Intel, Microsoft and Qualcomm to ensure a smooth rollout of ultra-affordable 5G phones, Ambani said.
He also announced an investment of Rs 75,000 crore in oil-to-chemicals value chain.
For the new energy segment, Ambani said RIL has already formed partnerships with pioneers in battery pack production such as Lithium Werks, Faradion and Ambri and aims to venture into battery pack production from the next calendar year. Reliance Industries, which had earlier announced its blueprint to transition to clean energy, said it will shift from grey hydrogen to green hydrogen by 2025.
Ambani outlined his succession plan, saying that daughter Isha Ambani will lead the retail business. Earlier, he had named son Akash as chairman of Jio. Anant will lead the new energy business.
Shares of RIL have gained more than 10% in 2022 so far compared with a 0.6% rise in the S&P BSE Sensex. Of the 39 analysts tracking the company, 31 maintain a 'buy', five suggest a 'hold' and three recommend a 'sell', according to Bloomberg data. The 12-month consensus price target implies an upside of 10.8%.