Reliance becomes world’s second-ranked energy firm, overtakes Exxon

 

• The Indian firm boosted early trading gains by around 2 percent on Monday.
• The digital platform Reliance Jio sold approximately 32.94% of the stake to 13 separate investors to clear its debt by March 2021.

Reliance Industries Limited, the Indian multinational conglomerate company headquartered in Mumbai, India, has reportedly overtaken Exxon Mobil Corp to become the world's second-largest energy company. The firm secured this position after bringing in several investors in its digital and retail ventures. It now stands at number two following Saudi Aramco. 

Managed by Mukesh Ambani, Reliance's oil refinery complex rose to 4.3 percent on Friday, in Mumbai. That brought the total value to $189 billion, while Exxon lost about $1 billion. 

According to sources familiar with the knowledge of the matter, the Indian firm boosted early trading gains by around 2 percent on Monday. This year, Reliance's shares increased by 46%, and Exxon's fell by 39% as refineries across the globe continued to plummet in demand for fuel.

Although the energy sector accounted for approximately 80% of the revenue of Reliance in the year ended 31 March, the expected growth of the company’s digital and retail arms has helped infuse $20 billion into Jio Platform Ltd. This contributed to Ambani 's wealth by adding $22.3 billion this year, pushing Ambani to fifth place in the Bloomberg Billionaires Index. 

The 63-year-old business tycoon describes technology and retail as potential growth areas. Over the last few months, Ambani's deal-making has drawn investment on his digital network from Google to Facebook Inc. The digital platform Reliance Jio sold approximately 32.94% of the stake to 13 separate investors to clear its debt by March 2021. The social media giant Facebook is the largest investor in the Jio Network and has acquired a 10 percent stake. Qualcomm was the most recent participant in Reliance Jio Platforms. The 5G US giant invested $97 million in Reliance Jio and gained a 0.15 percent stake.

Source Credit -https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2020-07-25/reliance-overtakes-exxon-to-become-world-s-no-2-energy-company