Qualcomm Ventures Invests ₹ 730 Crore in Jio Platforms for 0.15% Equity Stake

Reliance Industries Limited (“Reliance Industries”) and Jio Platforms Limited (“Jio Platforms”), announced yesterday that Qualcomm Ventures, the investment arm of Qualcomm Incorporated, an industry leader in wireless technologies, has committed to invest upto ₹ 730 crore in Jio Platforms at an equity value of ₹ 4.91 lakh crore and an enterprise value of ₹ 5.16 lakh crore. Qualcomm Ventures’ investment will translate into 0.15% equity stake in Jio Platforms on a fully diluted basis. The investment will deepen the ties between Qualcomm and Jio Platforms, to support Jio Platforms on its journey to rollout advanced 5G infrastructure and services for Indian customers.

Jio Platforms, a majority-owned subsidiary of Reliance Industries, is a next-generation technology platform focused on providing high-quality and affordable digital services across India, with more than 388 million subscribers. Jio Platforms has made significant investments across its digital ecosystem, powered by leading technologies spanning broadband connectivity, smart devices, cloud and edge computing, big data analytics, artificial intelligence, Internet of Things, augmented and mixed reality and blockchain. Jio’s vision is to enable a Digital India for 1.3 billion people and businesses across the country, including small merchants, micro-businesses and farmers so that all of them can enjoy the fruits of inclusive growth.

Qualcomm is the world’s leading wireless technology innovator and the driving force behind the development, launch and expansion of 5G. With more than $62 billion in cumulative research and development spend, 35 years of innovation and over 140,000 patents and patent applications, Qualcomm is committed to fueling innovation and fostering Indian technology advancement. Qualcomm Ventures is a global fund that invests in pioneering companies across the wireless ecosystem in areas like 5G, AI, IoT, automotive, networking and enterprise. In India, Qualcomm Ventures has invested in companies that address key domestic issues from Dairy, Transportation to Defense, and build world class products for India and the world market.

Mukesh Ambani, Chairman and Managing Director of Reliance Industries said, “Today, I am delighted to welcome Qualcomm Ventures as an investor in Jio Platforms. Qualcomm has been a valued partner for several years and we have a shared vision of connecting everything by building a robust and secure wireless and digital network and extending the benefits of digital connectivity to everyone in India. As a world leader in wireless technologies, Qualcomm offers deep technology knowhow and insights that will help us deliver on our 5G vision and the digital transformation of India for both people and enterprises.”

Steve Mollenkopf, CEO of Qualcomm Incorporated, said, “With our shared goal of extending the benefits of digital connectivity to everyone and everything, we anticipate Jio Platforms will deliver a new set of services and experiences to Indian consumers. With unmatched speeds and emerging use cases, 5G is expected to transform every industry in the coming years. Jio Platforms has led the digital revolution in India through its extensive digital and technological capabilities. As an enabler and investor with a longstanding presence in India, we look forward to playing a role in Jio's vision to further revolutionize India’s digital economy.”

The transaction is subject to customary conditions precedent.

Morgan Stanley acted as financial advisor to Reliance Industries and AZB & Partners and Davis Polk & Wardwell acted as legal counsels. Trilegal acted as legal counsel for Qualcomm Ventures.

Intel Invests ₹ 1,895 Cr for 0.39% Stake in Jio Platforms

Silicon Valley based American technology giant Intel, through its Venture Capital arm, Intel Capital, is investing ₹ 1,894.50 Crore in Reliance Industries' Jio Platforms for a 0.39% stake in the company. Post this deal, Jio Platforms will have an enterprise valuation of ₹ 5.16 Lakh Crore.

With this deal, Jio Platforms becomes the only company with the largest continuous fund-raise in the world, to date. In last 11 weeks, Intel deal will be 12th investment in Jio Platforms.

So far, Jio Platforms has raised ₹ 117,588.45 crore from leading technology investors including Facebook, Silver Lake Partners (two investments), Vista Equity Partners, General Atlantic, KKR, Mubadala, ADIA, TPG, L Catterton, PIF and Intel.

Late last month, Saudi Arabia's sovereign wealth fund PIF had invested ₹11,367 crore in Jio, for a 2.32% stake.

Mr. Mukesh Ambani, Chairman and Managing Director of Reliance Industries, said, "We are extremely delighted to deepen our ties with technology leaders that embody our vision of transforming India into a leading Digital Society in the world. Intel is a true industry leader, working towards creating world-changing technology and innovations. Intel Capital has an outstanding record of being a valuable partner for leading technology companies globally. We are therefore excited to work together with Intel to advance India's capabilities in cutting-edge technologies that will empower all sectors of our economy and improve the quality of life of 1.3 billion Indians."

Mr. Wendell Brooks, Intel Capital President, said, "Jio Platforms' focus on applying its impressive engineering capabilities to bring the power of low-cost digital services to India aligns with Intel's purpose of delivering breakthrough technology that enriches lives. We believe digital access and data can transform business and society for the better. Through this investment, we are excited to help fuel digital transformation in India, where Intel maintains an important presence."

Reliance Industries becomes 1st Indian Firm to Hit US$150 Bn Market cap

Reliance Industries on Monday became the first Indian firm to hit a market valuation of USD 150 billion helped by a continuous rally in its share price.

In morning trade, the company's market valuation jumped Rs 28,248.97 crore to Rs 11,43,667 crore (USD 150 billion) on the BSE.

The heavyweight stock surged 2.53 per cent to a record high of Rs 1,804.10 on the BSE. On the NSE, it rose by 2.54 per cent to an all-time high of Rs 1,804.20.

Reliance Industries on Friday became the first Indian company to cross the Rs 11 lakh crore market valuation mark.

Its market valuation crossed Rs 11 lakh crore in the previous session as its share price rallying over 6 per cent after chairman Mukesh Ambani announced that his oil-to-telecom conglomerate had become net debt-free.

Ambani announced that Reliance Industries had become net debt-free after raising a record Rs 1.69 lakh crore from global investors and a rights issue in under two months.

Reliance Industries raised Rs 1.15 lakh crore from global tech investors by selling a little less than a quarter of the firm's digital arm, Jio Platforms, and another Rs 53,124.20 crore through a rights issue in the past 58 days.

Taken together with last year's sale of 49 per cent stake in fuel retailing venture to BP Plc of UK for Rs 7,000 crore, the total fund raised is in excess of Rs 1.75 lakh crore, the company said.

Reliance Industries had a net debt of Rs 1,61,035 crore as on March 31, 2020. "With these investments, RIL has become net debt-free," it said.

On Thursday, Reliance Industries said it has sold a 2.32 per cent stake in its digital unit to Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund (PIF) for Rs 11,367 crore.

So far this year, the company's stock has gained over 19 per cent.

Reliance Buying Stake in Few Future Group's Units to Strengthen Its E-Commerce Plans

In a move that would strengthen the e-commerce strategies of Reliance Industries, the Mukesh Ambani-led conglomerate is about to conclude on a deal that would see it acquire stakes in some of the units of Future Group, said several media outlets via Bloomberg reported, citing people privy with the matter.

According to the report, an agreement between Reliance and Future Group, could be announced by next month. The on-going negotiation includes Future Retail as well as other retail units of Future Group.

Reliance is offering to buy into the Future group's holding company, in which family of Kishore Biyani, founder and chief executive officer of Future Group, holds stakes in. Since March, family of Kishore Biyani, founder and chief executive officer of Future Group, had been negotiating with creditors to sell shares in several group companies, people familiar with the matter told Bloomberg News in March.

The report further said that, the Future Group was in talks with PremjiInvest and Samara Capital for stake sale in Future Retail. The talks involving Future Group are part of the intensifying war to win over the Indian shopper -- both online and in physical stores.

If any deal is materialized, then it would be a breather for the Future Group as in March Biyani had defaulted on loans. Various rating agencies like Standard & Poor's and Fitch downgraded credit ratings of Future Retail after the default and invocation of pledged shares by lenders. The Promoter & Promoter Group held 40.31 per cent stake in Future Retail as of March 31, 2020.

The holding firm, through which Biyani's family owns its stake in the units, owes money to the lenders including Apollo Global Management Inc., Blackstone Group Inc. and UBS Group AG. The listed entities have debt of about 100 billion rupees ($1.3 billion), while the amount is similar for the holding vehicles of the family, the people said.

Future Retail operates 1,500 retail stores that cover over 16 million square feet of retail space in 400 cities. It has large format stores, Big Bazaar, its flagship chain, besides small store neighbourhood retail chains, EasyDay Club and Heritage Fresh.

Reliance Industries' Viacom18 to Create Shows for Netflix in India

American video streaming and production company Netflix is in talks with Viacom18, part of the Indian conglomerate Reliance Industries’ media unit Network18, about a multi-year partnership to source content, said a report of Reuters, citing its three sources.

According to the report, Viacom18 would create shows for Netflix to help the US firm expand offerings in India. Citing its sources, the Reuters report said that "The scale of Netflix's ambition and aspiration in India is quite high and the deal could involve at least 10 shows, mainly in Hindi.

A Netflix spokesman in India however denied that the company was in talks with Network18 or Viacom18, but did not elaborate. A spokeswoman for Viacom18 declined to comment on whether any talks were under way, said the report.

The report, citing two of the sources, further said that Some Reliance executives are involved in the Netflix negotiations.

Launched 4-years ago in India, Netflix competes against the video streaming services of Amazon's Prime Walt Disney Co.'s "Disney+ Hotstar" and others local players.

Speaking about Mukesh Ambani-led Reliance Industries, in recent weeks, the conglomerate has secured nearly $13 billion in investments from Facebook Inc, KKR & Co and other investors into its digital unit Jio Platforms, which houses movie and music apps, and a telecoms venture. In the month of May, Reliance’s Jio Platforms raised $4.6 Billion, which’s 85% of All PE/VC Investment in India, according a report by IVCA-EY.

In April this year, Netflix introduced new parental controls in India, including a PIN protect feature to prevent kids from accessing specific profiles. The new features were introduced at a time when people across the globe are spending more time indoors as part of efforts to contain the spread of the deadly coronavirus that has claimed thousands of lives globally.

The new features are beroduced at a time when people across the globe are spending more time indoors as part of efforts to contain the spread of the deadly coronavirus that has claimed thousands of lives globally.

To recall, Netflix along with Disney's Hotstar announced plans in early 2019 to adopt self-regulation guidelines for content streamed on their platforms within India, in an effort to prevent potential implementation of government censorship laws.

Netflix CEO Reed Hastings said in December the company planned to invest nearly $400 million (Rs 3,000 Crore) during 2019 and 2020 to develop content for Indian viewers. Netflix is looking to develop premium content in India and distribute it globally, Hastings said.

 

Reliance Industries' WhatsApp Chatbot becomes 1st AI chatbot to Assist Shareholders in Capital Market

Billionaire Mukesh Ambani's Reliance Industries has leaned on its new partner Facebook's WhatsApp to launch a chatbot to provide answers to shareholders on its mega Rs 53,125-crore rights issue.

The chatbot, the first one rolled out for a public offering, has been developed by Jio Haptik Technologies, sources in know of the development said.

The company is using Artificial Intelligence (AI) to assist investors in the Indian stock markets for the first time.

The AI-powered chatbot answers shareholders' queries on the Rs 53,125 crore rights issue, the largest in the history of India Inc, they said.

Replies by the chatbot are in English, while FAQ videos are in English, Hindi, Marathi, Kannada, Gujarati and Bangla.

The company has more than 2.6 million shareholders while WhatsApp has more than 400 million users in India.

The chatbot, which can be accessed by sending a message to +91-79771 11111, offers links to video tutorials and provides answers on topics such as important dates related to the rights issue, shareholder entitlement, trading in physical shares and sample forms.

When contacted, an RIL spokesperson declined to comment.

RIL's Rs 53,125-crore rights issue opened for subscription on May 20 and will close on June 3.

The firm's subsidiary Reliance Jio Infocomm had in April last year acquired chatbot-maker Haptik Infotech for Rs 230 crore and said it would invest another Rs 700 crore, over a period, for expansion.

Sources said all replies on the chatbot are replica of FAQs posted by lead managers to the issue on traditional channels.

A 'Hi' WhatsApp message to the Jio number +91-7977111111 activates the chatbot service. The relevant among the 75+ replies is triggered depending on what the user chooses among the intuitive questions.

Amidst the COVID-19 crisis and lockdown, the chatbot augments services of brokers, sub-brokers and call centres on queries of generic nature, particularly from senior citizens already comfortable with WhatsApp.

The 75+ replies include important dates, a calculator on rights entitlement and monies therefore to be paid in the initial installment, the fractional entitlement if any, how to trade the rights entitlement (trades were allowed till Friday, May 29), how to apply, payment methodologies, how to access forms or access the lead managers and the helplines.

Like humans, a chatbot is trained, at scale and 24x7, to refine its responses as it fields more questions.

Reliance Industries Takes Over some Debt Liabilities of Reliance Jio

Reliance Industries Limited on Wednesday said it has taken over some of the debt liabilities of Reliance Jio Infocomm Limited following approval from the Ahmedabad bench of the National Company Law Tribunal.

"We refer to the disclosure made by Reliance Jio Infocomm Limited ('RJIL'), a wholly owned subsidiary of the Company, dated March 18, 2020 regarding approval of the Scheme of Arrangement amongst RJIL and certain classes of its creditors (the 'Scheme') by the Hon'ble National Company Law Tribunal, Ahmedabad Bench, for transfer of certain identified liabilities to the Company," RIL said in a BSE filing.

The company neither disclosed the name of the creditors nor the quantum of liabilities.

"Accordingly, the Identified Liabilities of RJIL stand transferred to the Company. There shall be no impact on the consolidated debt of the Company on account of assumption of the Identified Liabilities of RJIL," the filing said.

Shares of RIL closed at Rs 968.85 a unit, down by 3.97 per cent compared to the previous close, at BSE on Wednesday. PTI PRS

Reliance Industries approaches NHAI for Waste Plastic-to-Road Technology

Mukesh Ambani-led Reliance industries has approached National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) for offering its 'waste plastic-to-road' technology that uses end-of-life plastic for road construction.

The company has already piloted few projects and has constructed nearly 40 km road by mixing 50 tonne of end-of-life plastic waste with bitumen at it's Nagothane manufacturing site in Raigad district.

"It took us some 14-18 months to develop this mechanism where we can use the end-of-life waste plastic like packaging of snacks and flimsy polyethylene bags, among others, in road construction.

"We are in talks with the NHAI to share our experience and to help the use of end-of-life plastic for road construction," company's COO Petrochemicals Business Vipul Shah told reporters.

Along with NHAI, RIL is also in talks with state governments and local bodies across the country for offering its technology, he said.

Explaining the benefits of the usage of this waste plastic, Shah said, "it not only ensures sustainable utilisation of plastic but is also financially viable".

Our experience showed that 1 km of road uses 1 mt of waste plastic and can save nearly Rs 1 lakh as it can be utilised as a substitute to bitumen to the extent of 8-10 per cent. So, roughly we saved Rs 40 lakh. Besides, this plastic also enhances the quality of roads, he said.

He said the roads made using this plastic were completed in two months and sustained the torrential rains of last year without any erosion.

"NHAI is expected to construct 10,000 km of roads with average four lanes in FY2021, which is around 40,000 km of roads that can use nearly 40,000 mt of waste plastics. Besides, other state authorities and local bodies are expected to construct 23,000 km of around four lane roads.

"This is a good 86,000 mt of waste plastic," RIL Head business development sustainable solutions KRS Narayan said.

He however added that the biggest challenge in this process is collection and segregation of this waste plastic, a process know-how that we can offer.

"We have still not decided about the commercial model for this. Going forward, we may consider developing products that could be used directly in road construction. But this will happen once we see the market for this business," Shah added. PTI PSK

63% Companies Spent More than the Prescribed CSR - CSRBOX Report 2019

• CSRBOX India CSR Outlook Report 2019 highlights 95.06% CSR Compliance by big 368 Companies


• Corporate India's social responsibility graph is headed up by 7.35%


• Reliance Industries Ltd, NTPC, ONGC and Power Grid Corporation of India Ltd. spent more than their prescribed CSR budgets

Reliance Industries Ltd., NTPC, ONGC and Power Grid Corporation of India Ltd. spent more than their prescribed CSR budgets in FY 2018-19, according to the India CSR Outlook Report 2019 (ICOR) published by NGOBOX at the recently concluded of the 6th edition of India CSR Summit 2019 held in New Delhi today. In FY 2018-19 Reliance Industries again became the top spender amongst the top 10 performers to spend more than its prescribed CSR budget spending 849.32 cr. This year, the ‘India CSR Summit & Exhibition' looked more promising with 400 companies, 3200 Delegates, 1900 organisations, 70+ startups and innovators, making it the largest development sector forum in Asia was held at Hotel Pullman & Novotel, New Delhi.

“The 2019 report is the 5th such annual report which provides an in-depth analysis of CSR spends of big 368 companies in FY 2018-19 which shows Corporate India's social responsibility graph headed up with 7.35%. The report visualizes a few important curves of CSR landscapes in India, entirely based on the actual CSR spending data of these companies, as reported by them in mandatory disclosures. Till last year we have seen companies spending 30-35% more than the prescribed CSR, but this time we have seen 2/3rd of companies spending 63% more than the prescribed CSR,” informs Mr. Bhomik Shah, CEO, CSRBOX.

[caption id="attachment_135851" align="aligncenter" width="892"] India CSR Report Launch[/caption]

The Total number of CSR projects held this year was 6131. The prescribed CSR for which was INR 10866.38 Cr and Actual CSR spent is INR 10904.01 Cr. Thus the CSR Compliance this year has been 95.06% which indicates a renewed sense of seriousness amongst companies as they have strived to match or surpass the prescribed CSR requirements with the actual CSR spends.

Few interesting facts of the India CSR Outlook Report (ICOR) 2019 reveals 368 total number of companies in the report and 6131 total number of projects. 63% companies spent more than the prescribed CSR. 10% spent the exact CSR as prescribed and 27% spent less than the prescribed CSR. The Average Prescribed CSR Per Company (in INR Cr.) is 29.44.

The number of projects implemented by companies has increased by 17% than last financial year. There has been almost 25% increase in education and skills-based projects from last financial year. Maharashtra, Karnataka and Orissa received almost 25% of the India’s total CSR fund whereas West Bengal, Assam and Kerala received the lowest CSR funds.

CSR Compliance among Public Sector Entreprises (PSE’s) in FY 2018-19 has been 107%. Public Sector Companies have 31% share in India's CSR Fund. 3368 cr have been the CSR spends for PSE’s and the unspent CSR spent has been 654 cr.

Western India received more than 20% of the CSR Fund in India. 30% of the total implemented projects were aligned to SDG 4, i.e., Quality Education. Education and skill based projects received the highest amount of the CSR fund. Oil, drilling, lubricants & petrochemical sector contributed the highest amount in CSR based projects. 1806 projects were implemented which focused on children.

The 2-day event was hosted by NGOBOX, UNICEF, NSDC and Goodera. These 368 companies account for almost 3/4th of the total CSR spend in India, making it a big sample size for any such study and analysis and were short-listed on the basis of INR 1 Cr. or above prescribed CSR in FY 2018-19. Listed on BSE or subsidiary of a BSE-listed company, availability of data by 31st Aug. 2019 and CSR disclosures as per the Companies Act, 2013.

The India CSR Summit & Exhibition is South Asia’s largest CSR, SDGs and social impact that brings together business leaders, board directors, CSR foundations, impact investors, philanthropists, innovators, government agencies, the UN bodies and non-profits leaders to explore synergies and co-create solutions.

RIL again becomes Most Valued Firm by Market Valuation

Last month, Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) went past Reliance Industries Ltd (RIL) to become the country's most valued firm by market valuation. However, in a latest this month, Reliance Industries Ltd (RIL) on Monday raced past TCS to become the country's most valued firm by market valuation again.

At close of trade on Monday, RIL's market capitalisation (m-cap) stood at Rs 8,19,073.62 crore, which is Rs 7,226.43 crore more than that of Tata Consultancy Services' (TCS) m-cap of Rs 8,11,847.19 crore on the BSE.

Shares of RIL rose by 1.15 per cent to close at Rs 1,292.10 on the BSE, while those of TCS closed flat at Rs 2,163.55.

RIL shares have gained ground since the announcement of a host of investor-friendly proposals at its annual general meeting held early last week. Since August 9, RIL shares have gone up by over 11 per cent.

RIL and TCS have in the past also competed with each other for the number one position in terms of market capitalisation.

In the domestic m-cap ranking, RIL was at number one position followed by TCS, HDFC Bank (Rs 6,03,371.38 crore), HUL (Rs 3,94,145.32 crore) and HDFC (Rs 3,64,763.82 crore) in the top-five list.

The m-cap figure of companies changes daily with stock price movement. PTI SUM

Reliance to Acquire Stake in Google-backed Fynd for ₹ 295 Crore; Invest ₹100 Cr More by 2021

Reliance Industries on Saturday said it has inked a pact to acquire a significant stake in Shopsense Retail Technologies for up to Rs 295.25 crore. Shohpsense runs and operates Fynd, an online shopping platform of fashion backed by investors including Google, Venture Catalysts, Kae Capital and Traxn Labs among others. Search giant Google has invested in Fynd in March this year, according to Crunchbase data.

Reliance Industrial Investments and Holdings Ltd (RIIHL), a wholly-owned subsidiary of the company, has entered into an agreement for acquisition of shares of Shopsense Retail, Reliance Industries Ltd (RIL) said in a regulatory filing.

"The aforesaid investment will further enable the group's digital and new commerce initiatives," it added.

RIIHL has an option to further invest an amount of up to Rs 100 crore in Shopsense which is likely to be completed by December 2021, RIL said.

"The total investment will translate into 87.6 per cent of equity share capital in Shopsense on a fully diluted and converted basis," it added.

Shopsense Retail or Fynd is a software technology company incorporated on September 27, 2012. It provides technology platform and solutions to merchants to manage their inventory and sales across multiple demand channels for consumers, including e-commerce platforms. PTI

TCS overtakes Reliance Industries to become Most Valued Indian Firm by Market Valuation

Tata Consultancy Services on Thursday went past Reliance Industries Limited to become the country's most valued firm by market valuation yet again.

At close of trade, the market capitalisation (m-cap) of Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) stood at Rs 7,98,620.04 crore, which is Rs 17,455.58 crore more than that of Reliance Industries Limited (RIL) at Rs 7,81,164.46 crore on the BSE.

Shares of TCS rose by 1.51 per cent to close at Rs 2,128.30 on the BSE, while those of RIL declined 2.11 per cent to Rs 1,232.30.

Both TCS and RIL keep competing with each other for the coveted title of the most valued domestic firm in terms of market capitalisation.

Apart from TCS and RIL, others in the top five list are HDFC Bank with a market valuation of Rs 6,24,666.23 crore, followed by HDFC (Rs 3,78,824.35 crore) and HUL (Rs 3,75,809.46 crore).

The m-cap figures of companies change daily with the stock price movement. PTI SUM

Mukesh Ambani Keeps Salary Capped at Rs 15 Cr for 11th yr in a row

Richest Indian Mukesh Ambani has kept his annual salary from his flagship firm Reliance Industries capped at Rs 15 crore for the eleventh year on the trot.

Ambani has kept salary, perquisites, allowances and commission together at Rs 15 crore since 2008-09, forgoing over Rs 24 crore per annum.

This is at a time when remunerations of all whole-time directors of the company, including cousins Nikhil and Hital Meswani, saw a handsome increase in the fiscal year ended March 31, 2019.

"Compensation of Shri Mukesh D Ambani, Chairman and Managing Director, has been set at Rs 15 crore, reflecting his desire to continue to set a personal example for moderation in managerial compensation levels," RIL said in its latest annual report.

His remuneration for 2018-19 included Rs 4.45 crore as salary and allowances, which is marginally lower than Rs 4.49 crore he got in the previous 2017-18 fiscal.

Commission has been unchanged at Rs 9.53 crore while perquisites have risen to Rs 31 lakh from Rs 27 lakh. Retirement benefits were Rs 71 lakh.

Ambani voluntarily capped his compensation at Rs 15 crore in October 2009 amid a debate over right-sizing of CEO salaries. The salary cap continued even as all other executive directors saw their remunerations go up.

Ambani's cousins Nikhil R Meswani and Hital R Meswani saw their compensation rise to Rs 20.57 crore each. They earned Rs 19.99 crore each in 2017-18 and Rs 16.58 crore in 2016-17. In 2015-16, Nikhil had got Rs 14.42 crore while Hital took home Rs 14.41 crore. In 2014-15, they had got Rs 12.03 crore each.

Also, one of his key executives, Executive Director P M S Prasad saw his remuneration go up to Rs 10.01 crore from Rs 8.99 crore in the previous year. He too has seen his remuneration rise steadily -- from Rs 6.03 crore in 2014-15, to Rs 7.23 crore in the next fiscal and Rs 7.87 crore in 2016-17.

Refinery chief Pawan Kumar Kapil saw his compensation rise to Rs 4.17 crore from Rs 3.47 crore in 2017-18. In the previous fiscal, his remuneration had fallen to Rs 2.54 crore, from Rs 2.94 crore in 2015-16. He had earned Rs 2.41 crore in 2014-15. The two however did not get any commission in 2018-19.

"Performance criteria for two Executive Directors, entitled for Performance Linked Incentive (PLI), are determined by the Human Resources, Nomination and Remuneration Committee," RIL said in the annual report.

RIL's non-executive directors, including Nita Ambani, also got Rs 1.65 crore each as commission, besides sitting fees. The commission was Rs 1.5 crore in 2017-18 and Rs 1.3 crore in the previous year.

Former State Bank of India (SBI) chairman Arundhati Bhattacharya got only Rs 75 lakh as commission as she was appointed to the board of RIL only with effect from October 17, 2018.

Ambani's wife Nita Ambani, a non-executive director on the company's board, earned Rs 7 lakh as sitting fee, up from Rs 6 lakh in the previous year.

Apart from Ambani, the RIL board has Meswani brothers, Prasad and Kapil as wholetime directors.

Besides Nita Ambani, other non-executive directors include Mansingh L Bhakta, Yogendra P Trivedi, Dipak C Jain, Raghunath A Mashelkar, Adil Zainulbhai, Raminder Singh Gujral, Shumeet Banerji and Aruundhati Bhattacharya. PTI ANZ

Reliance Industries to buy Majority Stake in Logistics Startup Grab

Reliance Industries (RIL) is in advanced discussions to buy a majority stake in Grab (Grab a Grub Services Pvt. Ltd) , a hyperlocal logistics startup backed by SIDBI Venture Capital, the venture capital arm of Small Industries Development Bank of India (SIDBI), reported Times of India (TOI) citing sources familiar with the development.

According to the report, the deal could close within next few weeks and also involve an investment to scale up the Mumbai-based startup.  The size of the acquisition could not be ascertained however.

The development comes after the Mukesh Ambani-led company said earlier that it plans to enter the e-commerce segment.

Also in last month, Mukesh Ambani, chairman and managing director of RIL, announced that Reliance Jio and Reliance Retail, the subsidiaries of RIL, will launch a new e-commerce platform, which will initially be rolled for Gujarat retailers and brick & mortar store owners.

Founded in 2014, by Jignesh Patel, Nishant Vora and Pratish Sanghvi,
Grab has raised over Rs 30 crore from financial investors like Oliphans Capital, SIDBI and Sixth Sense Ventures, besides strategic backers like Zomato and Dubai-based logistics company Aramex. 

Grab provides third-party, last-mile logistics services for food delivery companies, online pharmacy and grocery delivery, among others. Its logistics service is used by businesses encompassing restaurants, e-commerce companies, retailers, grocers, pharmacies, food tech platforms and banks, among others.

Grab has been talking to potential suitors for the last six-seven months and had also held talks with Paytm for an acquisition, said the TOI report.

Reliance Industries has been acquiring new-age companies since a year and the acquisition activity spikes in last six months.

In December, RIL acquired 5.56% equity stake in VAKT Holdings Limited, a London-based technology startup, for $5 million (around ₹ 35 crore). VAKT uses Blockchain technology for oil & energy trading.

A month before that, Reliance Industrial Investments and Holdings Limited (RIIHL) had picked up a controlling stake in New Emerging World of Journalism (NEWJ), a Mumbai-based digital media startup, with an initial investment of over ₹ 1 crore.

In the same month, RIHIL, a wholly-owned subsidiary of RIL, acquired 88% stake in Kanoda Energy, an Ahmedabad-based renewable energy services firm, for ₹ 75 crore (about $10.7 million), in an all-cash deal.

Last year, the company acquired music-streaming service Saavn and merged it with its JioMusic, valuing the combined unit at $1 billion. It also acquired education tech startup Embibe and committed to invest another $180 million in the company.

Reliance Industries to Launch E-Commerce Platform for Retail Store Owners; Starting from Gujarat

Reliance Jio and Reliance Retail, the subsidiaries of Mukesh Ambani-led Reliance Industries, will launch a new e-commerce platform in India, which will initially be rolled for Gujarat retailers and store-owners, announced Mukesh Ambani, chairman and managing director, Reliance Industries (RIL).

“The new e-commerce platform will empower and enrich our 12 lakh small retailers and shopkeepers in Gujarat,” Ambani said on Friday, while speaking at an inaugural ceremony of Vibrant Gujarat Global Summit 2019 in Gandhinagar.

It was in November 2017 when www.indianweb2.com reported that Reliance Jio is planning to make entry into India's online grocery market by linking manufacturers, kirana stores and corner shops to his Reliance Jio customers and mint money.

Reliance Jio currently has 280 million subscribers, while Ambani’s retail arm operates nearly 10,000 outlets across more than 6,500 Indian cities and towns. They’ll team up to bring merchants aboard through Jio’s apps and devices, V Subramaniam, a top executive at Reliance Retail, said on Thursday after the company put out quarterly numbers.

Last month, India tightened rules that will disallow foreign-owned online retailers from selling products via companies in which they own equity, and forbid them from pushing merchants to sell exclusively through their platforms. The rules are expected to affect the operations of both Amazon and Walmart, which acquired Flipkart Online Services Pvt in a $16 billion deal. They’re expected to benefit local enterprises such as Reliance.

Ambani has been gradually revealing details of his plans in e-commerce. In July, he said his platform would use augmented reality, holographs and virtual reality to create an “immersive shopping experience."

Reliance Industries, India’s largest company by market capitalization, wants to adopt an innovative online-to-offline (O2O) model, where a consumer is drawn into making online searches for purchases that are made in a physical store.

In August last year, a report supposedly said that Alibaba’s chairman Jack Ma had held talks with Mukesh Ambani, in July-2018 in Mumbai and discussed about plan to create a large omnichannel i.e. both online as well offline, retail entity through the proposed JV of RIL and Alibaba.

Last month, RIL also acquired 5.56% equity stake in VAKT Holdings Limited, a London-based technology startup, for $5 million (around ₹ 35 crore). VAKT uses Blockchain technology for oil & energy trading. And, Reliance has interests in the downstream oil business, with its arm Reliance Petroleum as one of the leading petroleum companies in the world.

Reliance Industries to Acquire Renewable Tech Firm Kanoda for ₹75 Crore

Reliance Industrial Investments and Holdings Limited ('RIIHL'), a wholly-owned subsidiary of Mukesh Ambani-led Reliance Industries Ltd, has agreed to pick up a controlling stake of 88% in Ahmedabad-based renewable energy services firm Kanoda Energy Systems Pvt. Ltd for ₹ 75 crore (about $10.7 million), in an all-cash deal.

According to a stock-exchange filing by RIL, the said investment upon completion will translate into 88% equity stake in KESL on a fully diluted basis. The total investment is likely to be completed by March 2020.

The acquisition will assist RIIHL's initiatives to use Kanoda's renewable energy sources.

Founded in 2009, by Dr. Kinjal Jani, Kanoda is a technology and innovation-driven renewable energy solution provider company, which offers services in solar advisory, product design and technology validation, and recently, it forayed into engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) and operation and maintenance (O&M) of solar photovoltaic systems.

Interestingly, Kanoda Energy was a 2004 incubation project by Research Scholars at Georgia Institute of Technology, USA. with the necessary capital infusion via Tipsons Group, the company then started designing and developing solar photovoltaic plants

The company had a turnover of ₹ 10.54 crore, ₹ 1.63 crore and Nil and Net Profit (Loss) of ₹ 81.38 lakhs, ₹ 16.54 lakhs and ₹ (0.51) lakhs in FY 2018, FY 2017 and FY 2016 respectively.

This acquisition of Kanoda comes only a month after RIIHL has picked up a controlling stake in New Emerging World of Journalism (NEWJ), a Mumbai-based digital media startup, with an initial investment of over ₹ 1 crore.

Last week, Reliance Industries has also acquired 5.56% equity stake in VAKT Holdings Limited, a London-based technology startup, for $5 million (around ₹ 35 crore). VAKT uses Blockchain technology for oil & energy trading. And, Reliance has interests in the downstream oil business, with its arm Reliance Petroleum as one of the leading petroleum companies in the world.

Major Renewable Energy Acitivies 2018

This month, Jaipur headquartered solar power developer and EPC player, Rays Power Infra, had raised ₹ 200 crore from DMI Finance, in this month only.

In October, Azure Power, which is India's largest independent solar power producers, had raised around $185 million primary capital from Canada-based Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec (CDPQ).

In June, Gurgaon-based ZunRoof, a rooftop focused solar startup, had raised ₹ 1.66 crore from i3N (led by Pradeep Tharakan, Sr. Energy Specialist at ADB and Vismay Sharma, MD, L'Oreal, UK & Ireland), Paipal Ventures’ Ajith Pai, Gaurav Gupta, Asia Director, Dalbergr and a bunch of IIT Kharagpur alumni based in US.

In the same month, Hyderabad-based solar energy solution startup Fourth Partner Energy raised $70 million in Series B funding from The Rise Fund, a global impact investment fund managed by TPG Growth.

In April, Gurgaon headquartered clean energy company ReNew Power acquired of Ostro Energy for $1.5 billion to create India’s largest clean energy firm by installed capacity. The acquisition becomes biggest ever deal in the Indian renewable energy sector to date.

Source - Equity Bulls

[Top Image - Dr. Kinjal Jani, Founder & MD Kanoda Energy]

India's Reliance Invests $5 Mn in UK-based Startup VHL that Uses Blockchain for Oil & Energy Trading

Mukesh Ambani-led Reliance Industries has acquired 5.56% equity stake in a London-based technology startup, VAKT Holdings Limited (VHL), for $5 million (around Rs 35 crore).

Created and launched as an independent company in December 2017, VHL is backed by energy majors BP, Shell and Statoil, trading houses Gunvor, Koch Supply & Trading, and Mercuria; and banks ABN Amro, ING and Societe Generale.

VHL has created a secure, real-time blockchain-based digital platform, working with global software consultancy ThoughtWorks and underpinned by JPMorgan’s Quorum private distributed ledger. The platform manages physical energy transactions from trade entry to final settlement, eliminating reconciliation and paper-based processes.

The blockchain platform essentially automates post-trade processes in the energy industry which will help oil companies do away with paper-based documentation and switch to smart contracts. This, in turn, is expected to reduce costs and lower the risk of errors and enhance the efficiency of post-trade processes. It will comprise a “secure, real-time blockchain-based platform to manage physical energy transactions.

This strategic investment by Reliance would accelerate its’s digital journey, through active participation in an emerging area for blockchain-enabled technology solutions for energy markets.

As per BSE filing, "No regulatory approvals were required for the said acquisition of shares. The investment does not fall within related party transactions and none of RIL's promoters/promoter group /group companies have any interest in VHL."

The blockchain platform developed by VHL was launched last month in the North Sea oil market. In 2019 VHL will look at ARA barges, waterborne markets and US crude pipelines.

VHL, which is also a member of the Enterprise Ethereum Alliance (EEA), had made an announcement last month that the blockchain platform would be run as a new venture by the consortium members, to be managed and operated as an independent entity.

Reliance Industries' Subsidiary Invests ₹1 Cr in 'NEWJ', A Yet-to-be-Launched Digital Media Startup

India's richest man, Mukesh Ambani-led Reliance Industries Limited’s (RIL) investment arm has picked up a controlling stake in a Mumbai-based digital media startup, New Emerging World of Journalism (NEWJ), with an initial investment of over ₹ 1 crore. Apparently, NEWJ is yet to be launched and its web address - www.theNEWJ.com, is still under construction and showing message of "Coming Soon", with a video playing on its home page.

According to a regulatory filing by RIL, Reliance Industrial Investments and Holdings Limited (RIIHL), the investment holding company and a wholly-owned unit of RIL, has invested Rs 1.03 crore in an initial tranche. RIHL has subscribed to 30,000 equity shares and 125 compulsory convertible debentures in NEWJ for total cash aggregating to Rs 10.3 (Rs 1.03 crore) and consequently NEWJ has become subsidiary of RIIHL and the company.

NEWJ was founded this year by Shalabh Upadhyay, a former Senior Video Strategist & Lead at India unit of NowThis, a New York-based video news brand, which has more than 2.5 billion monthly views.

NEWJ is mainly into production and curation of content for the emerging social and digital media ecosystem. According to media report, the media startup will also be developing data enabled technology products which allow for integrated models of reporting and distribution.

“The recent exponential growth of the video content market provides a huge opportunity for innovative visual storytelling in India. The company intends to fill this demand for quality content in the social and digital media space. The venture was founded by a team of young entrepreneurs led by Shalabh Upadhyay,” RIL said in a media statement.

Post this investment, NEWJ will harness the synergy with RIL with a data-driven and tech-focused approach in creating a distributed content model.

Notably, just a couple of days back, RIIHL has also incorporated a company viz., “Jio Estonia OÜ” in Estonia and the newly formed company will look into software development and provide consultancy for existing and future technology initiatives pursued by the Reliance Industries group and its subsidiaries.

Source - Financial Express

India's 1st Financial Transaction using Blockchain Executed by HSBC for Reliance

India unit of British bank HSBC has executed India's first financial transaction using blockchain technology for a deal involving an export by Reliance Industries to its client Tricon Energy in the US.

Tricon Energy used HSBC (India)-engineered blockchain-enabled Letter of Credit (LoC) deploying electronic Bill of Lading (eBL) platform Bolero to benchmark the country’s adoption of disruptive decentralized ledger technology in domestic and cross-border transactions.

Bolero is a UK-based trade finance digitisation solutions provider. The blockchain-based system developed by Bolero allows issue and management of e-form bill of lading and is integrated with digital transfer of goods, titles involving buyers and sellers in any given trade.

The blockchain-enabled LoC transaction was for a shipment from the Mukesh Ambani-led Reliance Industries Limited (RIL) to US-based Tricon Energy. This blockchain-based financial transaction helped both the companies to reduce the time required to process the documents.

"The use of blockchain offers significant potential to reduce the timelines involved in exchange of export documentation from the extant seven-ten days to less than a day," RIL joint chief financial officer Srikanth Venkatachari was quoted as saying by PTI.

RIL further claimed claimed that the solution is a significant improvement for any organisation involved in buying and selling goods internationally, as it brings together all parties onto one platform.

Hitendra Dave, head of global banking & markets, HSBC (India), said, "The use of blockchain is a significant step towards digitising trade. It has a transformative impact on trade finance transactions and enables greater transparency and enhanced security, in addition to making it simpler and faster. The overall efficiency it brings to trade finance ensures cost effectiveness, quicker turnaround and potentially unlocks liquidity for businesses."

Banks across the world are adopting blockchain as a transparent, quick and secure platform for sharing documents, validating authenticity and enabling faster financial transactions.

Recent Blockchain Use by Indian Entities

Last Month, India's ICICI Bank joined JP Morgan's blockchain-based payment project called Interbank Information Network (IIN), and become the only bank from India to have joined JP Morgan's proprietary blockchain platform.

In September, National Stock Exchange of India Ltd (NSE) had conducted tests to use blockchain for e-voting for listed companies on a platform provided by Mumbai-based blockchain startup Elemential Labs

In August, in order to fight fake medicines problem in the country, government of India's policy maker, NITI Aayog, partnered with Oracle and local chain of hospitals, Apollo Hospitals, where Oracle will integrate its blockchain technology and a distributed ledger solution in pharmaceutical supply chain, which will create records that are unchangeable for each pharma transaction.

In April this year, India’s first blockchain-based network went live when three online bill-discounting exchanges -- Receivables Exchange of India (RXIL), A.TReDS, and M1xchange -- came together and implemented a blockchain-based solution for their operations to deter fraud.

In the same month, Kerala's Blockchain Academy of state-run IIITM-Kerala has become the first Indian Institution to get membership of Hyperledger Project.

Via ~ Business Today

Amazon's 1 Month Gain is More Than Reliance Industries' Total Market Value

E-Commerce giant Amazon has added nearly $99 billion in market capitalization in a span of one month alone, which is more than total market value of India's most valued & richest Indian-controlled company Reliance Industries Limited. Amazon.com share price has been continuously surging since October last year, following which the fortunes of founder and CEO of Amazon.com, Jeff Bezos, breached the psychological mark of $100 billion in 2018.

Between 13 Feb - 12 March, Amazon's share price has surged from $1414.51 to $1598.39. Amazon's market value also surged 14.8% from $671 billion on February 12 to whopping $770 billion on March 12. On the other hand, as at the time of writing this article, Reliance Industries market cap is Rs 570,435.32 crore or ~ $83.67 billion (compare it to Amazon's $671 billion). Market capitalization is the aggregate valuation of the company based on its current share price and the total number of outstanding stocks. It is calculated by multiplying the current market price of the company's share with the total outstanding shares of the company.

It is to be noted here that, while Amazon Inc is a 24 year old company, Reliance Industries is relatively old with 41 years of its existence. In other words, Amazon founder Jeff Bezos was 13-year-old teenager when Reliance Industries was founded in 1977.

Related Reading - Story of Jeff Bezos Who’s Now Seeking Ideas To Donate His Money

In last one year, Reliance is also ramping up quickly but not as fast as Amazon. Shares of Reliance Industries have been on a rising spree since February 2017, taking the last one year’s gains to over 70%. This January, Reliance Jio, the telecommunications arm of Reliance Industries Ltd, turned profitable for the first time and making it one of the few or probably the only startup to become profitable within just 17 months of its launch.

Reliance Industries was ranked at 25th position across the world, on the basis of sales, in the ICIS Top 100 Chemicals Companies list in 2012. In India, the Reliance Industries is the second most valuable brand.

Amazon, on other hand, is the largest Internet retailer in the world as measured by revenue and market capitalization, and second largest after Alibaba Group in terms of total sales. Going forward, It is the fourth most valuable public company in the world, the largest Internet company by revenue in the world, and the eighth largest employer in the United States.

Technically speaking, business models of Reliance Industries and Jeff Bezos-led Amazon are different in nature of operations and the counter-party to which they cater to. Reliance Industries is primarily involved in petrochemical products, textile, telecommunications etc, while Amazon is essentially a new-age tech company involved primarily in e-commerce across the world along with internet services, cloud infrastructure services, consumer electronics as well as robotics. And now, with acquisition of Whole Foods Market for $13.4 billion in 2017, the company has also entered brick-and-mortar retailer.

To recall, early this year it was reported that Amazon, through a wholly-owned subsidiary, is all set to sell locally made food items in India as last year it got $500 million Indian government approval for food retailing in the country. Notably, Reliance Industries will give head to head to Amazon in food retailing as it is also reportedly planning to make entry into India’s online grocery market by linking manufacturers, kirana stores and corner shops to its Reliance Jio customers and mint money. In fact according to industry veteran T V Mohandas Pai, Reliance Retail will pose the biggest challenge to both Amazon and homegrown Flipkart, due to its wider reach and tremendous penetration of Reliance Jio.

It may also be recalled that a panel of venture capitalists at the 2017's Silicon Dragon event in New York City picked Amazon as a leader in the future tech landscape. Considering Amazon and Flipkart are currently going head to head in the Indian e-commerce market, this global recognition can really raise the former’s stake in the Indian subcontinent.

Via - Financial Express