Additionally, Ambani projected that the new energy business would become profitable by 2031, with the core oil and chemical business continuing to serve as a robust growth engine for the conglomerate.
Reliance, which has diverse interests spanning refining, oil and gas, petrochemicals, telecoms, retail, and media, is on a trajectory to more than double in size before the end of the decade, according to Ambani.
As the oil and chemicals business continues to be a growing cash cow, Reliance plans to intensify its adoption of AI technologies. The company will introduce ‘Jio Brain’ – a suite of AI tools and platforms – and establish gigawatt scale IA-ready data centres in Jamnagar, Gujarat, “to create the world’s lowest AI inferencing cost,” making such applications more affordable in India compared to anywhere else in the world.
Ambani said that three of the company’s five growth engines have a valuation exceeding $100 billion each and are poised for even faster growth in the future. These growth engines include the oil-to-chemical (O2C) business, which encompasses oil refinery and petrochemical plants, the retail division, which consists of both online and physical stores, and the telecom and digital venture, Jio.
“Jio and Retail are expected to double their revenues and EBITDA in the next 3-4 years,” he said, highlighting the immense potential for growth in these sectors. Additionally, Ambani expressed his optimism about the company’s new energy business, which he believes will become a significant and profitable venture for Reliance over the next 5-7 years, comparable to the success of their O2C business, which has been built over the past four decades.
Looking ahead, Ambani identified green fuels and AI-based solutions as long-term growth engines for Reliance. These emerging technologies and sustainable initiatives are expected to play a crucial role in the company’s future success and contribute to its ongoing expansion and profitability.
Mukesh Ambani began his address to shareholders at the RIL AGM by congratulating PM Narendra Modi for securing a record third term. Ambani said that a notice has been sent to the stock exchange that the Board of Directors will be meeting on September 5, 2024 to vote on the issue of announcing bonus shares in the ratio of 1:1.
Since January 1, 2000, Reliance Industries has not split the face value of its shares. However, the company has issued two bonus shares, both at a 1:1 ratio, since November 26, 2009. The most recent bonus issue had an ex-date of September 7, 2017, according to an ET report.
‘Not in business of short-term profit’
Mukesh Ambani said that his conglomerate, which spans from oil to telecom, is not focused on generating short-term profits or accumulating wealth for its own sake. Instead, the company’s primary goal is to create wealth for the nation as a whole.
During his speech, Ambani highlighted Reliance’s commitment to ensuring India’s energy security. He also noted that the company has undergone a transformation, evolving into a deep tech enterprise that now produces its own technology rather than merely consuming it.
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Reliance transforming itself into deep tech company’
Mukesh Ambani announced that the company is undergoing a transformation into a deep tech entity. He emphasized the significance of AI as a groundbreaking development in human evolution, opening up possibilities to tackle intricate challenges faced by humanity.
Ambani expressed confidence that Reliance’s strategic embrace of deep tech and advanced manufacturing will propel the company into the global top-30 league in the near future, assuring that the future holds even greater promise than the past. He highlighted Jio’s position as a genuine deep tech innovator.
“As I told you last year, Reliance has now become a net producer of technology. Breakthrough technologies and innovation have always been the greatest wealth creators for nations, as well as for corporates. Reliance internalised this ‘Vikas Mantra’ at every stage of our growth,” Ambani said.
Reliance is undergoing a transformation into a deep tech company with advanced manufacturing capabilities through several means. Firstly, the company is integrating innovative technologies into every business to generate increased value for customers. Secondly, Reliance’s skilled engineers and scientists are developing critical technological innovations in-house to enhance product and service offerings. Lastly, the company has established an AI-native digital infrastructure for all its businesses and has built its own software stack, integrating end-to-end workflows and real-time dashboards.
Watch RIL AGM 2024: Full address of Mukesh Ambani
47th Annual General Meeting (Post-IPO) of Reliance Industries Limited
AI goals
Mukesh Ambani announced at Reliance Industries’ AGM that the company will establish gigawatt-scale, AI-ready data centers in Jamnagar, Gujarat. He also highlighted Reliance’s goal of achieving the world’s lowest AI inferencing costs. Ambani noted that the advent of AI has created new opportunities to tackle complex challenges facing humanity.
“The birth of AI has opened up opportunities to address complex problems facing humans,” Ambani said, recognizing the potential of artificial intelligence to tackle significant challenges. Ambani also unveiled the Jio AI Cloud Welcome offer, which provides Jio users with 100 GB of free cloud storage.
New Energy Space
Ambani announced that the company is making significant strides in the new energy sector. The group is on track to invest the committed Rs 75,000 crore in establishing a new energy ecosystem. The production of solar photovoltaic (PV) modules is set to begin by the end of this year, with the goal of achieving the first phase of integrated solar production facilities in the subsequent quarters. “The integration will include modules, cells, glass, wafers, ingot, and polysilicon, with an initial annual capacity of 10 GW.”
Furthermore, Reliance has started constructing an integrated advanced chemistry-based battery manufacturing facility with a 30 GWh annual capacity at Jamnagar. The production is expected to commence by the second half of next year. The company has also initiated work on establishing a fully automated, multi-GW electrolyser manufacturing facility on the west coast of India, which is scheduled to be ready by 2026. “This giga-factory will be fully adaptable, capable of supporting various technologies such as Alkaline, PEM, and AEM,” Ambani stated.
In addition to these projects, Reliance has leased arid wasteland in Kutch, just 250 kilometres from Jamnagar. Ambani emphasized the potential of this wasteland, stating, “This wasteland has the potential to generate about 150 billion units of electricity in the next 10 years – providing nearly 10 per cent of India’s energy requirements.” The company has already started significant project development work and is building its transmission infrastructure to bring online solar generation projects.
Moreover, Reliance has secured access to nearly 2,000 acres of land at Kandla port to facilitate the production, storage, evacuation, and shipping of green fuels to markets in India and abroad. These developments showcase Reliance’s commitment to the new energy sector and its efforts to contribute to India’s energy requirements while promoting sustainable solutions.
Succession Plan
Mukesh Ambani announced last year that his three children – Akash, Isha, and Anant – had been appointed to the company’s board as part of the succession planning process. On Thursday, he acknowledged their increased responsibilities within the organization.
Akash is responsible for overseeing the telecom venture, while Isha manages the retail business. Anant is in charge of a new energy initiative. The retail business, which comprises approximately 19,000 stores across more than 7,000 cities and an e-commerce platform, ranks among the top 10 global retailers by market capitalization and the top 30 by revenues.
Jio, the telecom arm, boasts 490 million users and handles 8 per cent of global mobile traffic, having completed its 5G rollout. Ambani stated that Jio aims to provide its broadband service, JioAirfiber, to 100 million homes while also developing large-scale AI infrastructure to make AI accessible to all.
In the O2C (Oil to Chemicals) business, Reliance is expanding capacities across PVC and polyester, and constructing India’s first carbon fibre plant in Hazira, Gujarat.
‘India a bright spot’
Ambani spoke of the global economy, the hope that revolutionary breakthroughs in science like Artificial Intelligence offer, and the concerns surrounding geopolitical conflicts. “World today brings hope and concerns, on one hand we are living with scientific breakthrough like artificial intelligence, we are promised proprietary. The birth of AI has opened up opportunities to help solve multiple problems, but geopolitical tensions threaten to challenge global economy,” said Mukesh Ambani.
Mukesh Ambani also highlighted that India remains the ‘brightest beacon of hope’ for the world. He added that IMF’s projections of India surpassing Japan and Germany to become the world’s third largest economy in the coming years, means that by the time India hits the 80th year of Independence, we would have achieved this milestone.
“Our future is far brighter than our past. For example, Reliance took over two decades to be amongst the Top 500 companies globally. The following two decades saw us joining the league of the world’s Top-50 most valuable companies. With our strategic adoption of Deep-Tech and Advance Manufacturing, I can clearly see Reliance earning a place in the Top-30 League in the near future,” he said.