With the launch of Reliance Jio, the much-awaited 4G telecom network on September 5, it brings to close the Rs 1,12,000 crore of capex last fiscal, the highest ever by an Indian company in a year.
Mukesh Ambani, Chairman, RIL, also said at the AGM that the company is investing in doubling cracker capacity at the Jamnagar refinery, to be built at one-tenth the cost of its North American peers. The work is expected to be complete by December 2016, and is ready for large-scale imports of ethane as feedstock from the US. Expansion plans of the PET and PX plans are also on schedule, he added.
In the upstream business, shale gas investments are in "capital protection" mode. RIL is open to monetising these businesses in the future.
Over 1,050 fuel retail outlets are operational and another 200 in advanced stages of commissioning. The business of Reliance Retail has tripled in the last few years, Ambani told shareholders.
The media and entertainment business reached 500 million viewers every month, with two out of every five Indians watching an RIL-owned channel. RIL's digital properties are among the most successful in the country, Ambani added.
RIL has delivered shareholder returns of over 20 per cent since its IPO; this is set to increase in the coming years. The consumer business will grow to match the size and capacity of the refining petrochemical business' capacity as it stands today in the coming years, the RIL Chairman told shareholders. The company "will share generously the rewards of the investment cycle" with shareholders, Ambani promised.