Tough questions on dwindling oil and gas output in the KG basin, low dividend and higher cash reserves marked the Reliance Industries's 38th annual general meeting today. But that did not prevent Reliance Industries chief, Mr Mukesh Ambani, from setting out ambitious growth plans for the next few years.
The Chairman and Managing Director of the country's largest conglomerate plans to invest Rs 1 lakh crore over the next five years in the country “to build a stronger and more diversified Reliance.”
Apart from its mainstay petrochemicals business, the company is also building a new global-scale business in elastomers (rubber products).
“We will position our company as the largest producer in India and among the top 15 elastomer producers globally,” Mr Ambani assured.
In addition, the company is also building an acetyls portfolio to cater to the coatings, adhesives and paint markets in India, increasing the petrochemicals capacity from the current 15 million tonnes to 25 million tonnes.
Amid a difficult year for refining business, RIL has achieved its “highest ever level of crude throughout and processed 67.6 million tonnes of crude during the year”.
The company's Board has also approved the largest ever buyback of its shares, to date, in the country's corporate history by setting aside up to Rs 10,440 crore. Starting February, so far the company has already bought back 2.7 crore shares at a cost of Rs 1,929 crore. The shares of Reliance Industries closed nearly one percent higher at Rs 720.70 on the Bombay Stock Exchange.
Reliance Retail
Mr. Ambani plans to grow its retail consumer business by five to six times its existing revenues of over Rs 7,600 crore to achieve Rs 40,000 to 50,000 crore over the next three to four years.
It currently operates 1,300 stores across 18 states in value formats of Reliance Fresh, Reliance Super and Reliance Mart and in speciality formats like Reliance Digital, Reliance Trends and Reliance Footprint.
“I am confident that we will have over 1 crore people shopping with us each week (from current 30 lakh per week) in the next three to four years,” said Mr Ambani.