Further, Ambani projected that the new energy business would become profitable by 2031, with the core oil and chemicals business continuing to serve as a robust growth engine for the conglomerate.
Reliance, which has diversified interests spanning refining, oil and gas, petrochemicals, telecommunications, 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 sector continues to generate a growing revenue stream, Reliance plans to ramp up its adoption of AI technologies. The company will launch ‘Jio Brain’, a suite of AI tools and platforms, and establish gigawatt-scale AI-ready data centres in Jamnagar, Gujarat, “to create the lowest cost of AI inference in the world”, making these applications more affordable in India than anywhere else in the world.
According to Ambani, three of the company’s five growth engines are each valued at over $100 billion and are poised to grow even faster in the future. These growth engines include the oil-to-chemical (O2C) business, which encompasses oil refineries and petrochemical plants; the retail division, which includes both online and physical stores; and the telecom and digital business, Jio.
“Jio and Retail are expected to double their revenue and EBITDA in the next 3-4 years,” he said, highlighting the immense growth potential in these sectors. Further, Ambani expressed optimism about the company’s new energy business, which he said will become a significant and profitable business for Reliance in the next 5-7 years, comparable to the success of their O2C business, which has been built over the last four decades.
Looking ahead, Ambani has identified green fuels and AI-based solutions as long-term growth drivers 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 continued expansion and profitability.
Mukesh Ambani began his address to shareholders at RIL’s annual general meeting by congratulating Prime Minister Narendra Modi on securing a record third term. Ambani said a notice has been sent to the stock exchange that the board will meet on September 5, 2024, to vote on the issue of announcing bonus shares in a ratio of 1:1.
Reliance Industries has not split the face value of its shares since January 1, 2000. However, the company has issued two bonus shares, both at a ratio of 1:1, since November 26, 2009. The last bonus issue had an ex-split date of September 7, 2017, according to an ET report.
“No short-term profit”
Mukesh Ambani has said that his conglomerate, which spans from oil to telecommunications, is not focused on generating short-term profits or accumulating wealth for its own sake. Rather, the company’s primary objective is to create wealth for the nation as a whole.
In 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 high-tech company that now produces its own technology rather than simply consuming it.
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Reliance transforms into a high-tech company
Mukesh Ambani announced that the company is transforming into a high-tech entity. He highlighted the importance of AI as a revolutionary development in human evolution, opening up possibilities to address the complex challenges facing humanity.
Ambani expressed confidence that Reliance’s strategic adoption of cutting-edge technology and advanced manufacturing will propel the company into the global top 30 in the near future, assuring that the future is even brighter than the past. He highlighted Jio’s position as a true innovator in cutting-edge technology.
“As I told you last year, Reliance has now become a net producer of technology. Cutting-edge technology and innovation have always been the greatest creators of wealth for nations as well as for businesses. Reliance has internalised this ‘Vikas mantra’ at every stage of its growth,” Ambani said.
Reliance is transforming itself into a high-tech company with advanced manufacturing capabilities through several means. First, the company is integrating innovative technologies into every business to generate increased value for customers. Second, Reliance’s skilled engineers and scientists are developing critical technology innovations in-house to enhance product and service offerings. Finally, the company has established an AI-native digital infrastructure across all its businesses and built its own software stack, integrating end-to-end workflows and real-time dashboards.
Watch RIL General Meeting 2024: Mukesh Ambani’s Full Speech
47th Annual General Meeting (Post IPO) of Reliance Industries Limited
AI Goals
Mukesh Ambani announced at Reliance Industries’ annual general meeting that the company will set up gigawatt-scale AI-ready data centers in Jamnagar, Gujarat. He also highlighted Reliance’s goal of achieving the lowest AI inference costs in the world. Ambani noted that the advent of AI has created new opportunities to address complex challenges facing humanity.
“The birth of AI has opened up opportunities to solve complex problems faced by humans,” Mr Ambani said, acknowledging the potential of artificial intelligence to tackle significant challenges. Mr Ambani also unveiled the Jio AI Cloud Welcome offer, which gives Jio users 100GB of free cloud storage.
New Energy Space
Ambani announced that the company is making significant progress in the new energy sector. The group is set to invest the Rs 75,000 crore committed to creating a new energy ecosystem. The production of solar photovoltaic (PV) modules is expected to begin by the end of this year, with the aim of completing the first phase of integrated solar production facilities in the following quarters. “The integration will include modules, cells, glass, wafers, ingots and polysilicon, with an initial annual capacity of 10 GW.”
In addition, Reliance has started building an integrated advanced chemistry battery manufacturing plant with an annual capacity of 30 GWh in Jamnagar. Production is expected to begin in the second half of next year. The company has also started work on setting up a fully automated multi-GW electrolyser manufacturing plant on the west coast of India, which is expected to be ready by 2026. “This gigantic plant will be fully adaptable, capable of supporting various technologies such as alkaline, PEM and AEM,” Ambani said.
In addition to these projects, Reliance has leased out barren land in Kutch, just 250 kilometres from Jamnagar. Ambani highlighted the potential of this wasteland, saying, “This wasteland has the potential to generate about 150 billion units of electricity in the next 10 years, which meets almost 10 per cent of India’s energy needs.” The company has already started developing major projects and is building its transmission infrastructure to commission solar power projects.
Reliance has also secured access to nearly 2,000 acres of land at Kandla Port to facilitate production, storage, evacuation and shipment of green fuels to Indian and overseas markets. These developments illustrate Reliance’s commitment to the new energy sector and its efforts to contribute to India’s energy needs 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 organisation.
Akash is responsible for overseeing the telecom business, while Isha manages the retail business. Anant is in charge of a new energy initiative. The retail business, which includes around 19,000 stores in over 7,000 cities and an e-commerce platform, ranks among the top 10 global retailers by market capitalization and the top 30 by revenue.
Jio, the telecom arm, has 490 million users and handles 8% of global mobile traffic, after completing its 5G rollout. Ambani said Jio aims to provide its broadband service, JioAirfiber, to 100 million homes while building a large-scale AI infrastructure to make AI accessible to all.
In the O2C (Oil to Chemicals) segment, Reliance is expanding its capabilities in PVC and polyester and building India’s first carbon fibre plant in Hazira, Gujarat.
“India, a positive point”
Mukesh Ambani spoke about the global economy, the hopes of revolutionary scientific advances like artificial intelligence, and the concerns of geopolitical conflicts. “Today’s world is full of hopes and concerns. On the one hand, we live with scientific advances like artificial intelligence, and we are promised exclusive rights. The birth of AI has opened up opportunities to help solve many problems, but geopolitical tensions threaten to undermine the global economy,” said Mukesh Ambani.
Mukesh Ambani also stressed that India remains the “greatest symbol of hope” for the world. He added that the IMF’s projections that India would overtake Japan and Germany to become the world’s third largest economy in the coming years means that when India celebrates 80 years of independence, we will have reached that milestone.
“Our future is much brighter than our past. For instance, it took Reliance over two decades to make it to the top 500 global companies. The next two decades saw us join the league of the world’s 50 most valuable companies. With our strategic adoption of advanced technologies and advanced manufacturing, I clearly see Reliance earning a place in the league of the top 30 in the near future,” he said.
