Dhirubhai Ambani Suffers Second Stroke

Reliance group chairman Dhirubhai Ambani, founder of India's largest business house, suffered his second vascular stroke late Monday night and was admitted in the intensive coronary care unit of the Breach Candy hospital in Mumbai.

Ambani was understood to be unconscious and in a critical state till late Tuesday evening.

He had suffered a stroke in 1986, which left him partially paralysed. News of his condition initially left the market in a state of panic, with the flagship Reliance Industries dipping 3 per cent in the first half of the day and pulling down the BSE sensex with it.

The Breach Candy hospital was flooded with high-profile visitors, including politicians, bureaucrats, industrialists and celebrities. Late in the afternoon, younger son Anil Ambani had to request media persons and assembled visitors to "make way for the smooth functioning of the hospital".

Among the first to visit were Maharashtra chief minister Vilasrao Deshmukh, deputy chief minister Chaggan Bhujbal, Nationalist Congress Party chief Sharad Pawar, and Samajwadi Party leaders Mulayam Singh Yadav and Amar Singh.

Shiv Sena supremo Bal Thackeray, along with his son Uddhav Thackeray and nephew Raj Thackeray, also visited the hospital. Police had to arrange heavy security in the area.

Industrialists Kumar Mangalam Birla, Anand Mahindra and Subhash Chandra were among the early visitors at the hospital.

Also present were Bollywood superstar and close family friend Amitabh Bachchan, Sahara India chief Subroto Roy, and Congress leader Murli Deora. Rahul Bajaj, who was admitted to the hospital a day ago, also paid a visit.

Dhirubhai Ambani, born into a poor teacher's family in Gujarat, played a key role in shaping India's stock market culture by attracting retail investors to a market dominated by financial institutions.

Flagship company Reliance Industries came out with one of the largest public equity offerings of its time in 1977. Paying high dividends and bonuses at a time when company stocks were seen as low-return, risky investments made Ambani a hero to his shareholders.

He had the vision to set up India's first world-scale projects at a time when the country's economy was plagued with smaller, inefficient capacities. In Jamnagar, Gujarat, he invested over Rs 25,000 crore in the world's largest grassroots refinery, and then set up a second petrochemicals complex.

The group has also set the ball rolling on a nationwide Rs 25,000-crore investment in telecommunication.

From his modest beginnings as a petrol pump attendant in Aden, Dhirubhai Ambani set up a group which later blossomed into India's only Fortune 500 company. After the merger of Reliance Petroleum with Reliance Industries, the combined entity will enter the Fortune 500 list.

Reliance scrips dip

Our Markets Bureau in Mumbai

The stock market saw hectic trading in Reliance group stocks as news of the hospitalisation of the group chairman, Dhirubhai Amabni, was flashed on Indian televisions. The news triggered selling pressure in all four listed group stocks, knocking off Rs 1,590 crore in market capitalisation by the end of the day. Reliance Industries lost Rs 1,027.65 crore in market capitalisation to end the day poorer at Rs 28,842.71 crore. RPL shed Rs 520.2 crore in market cap to Rs 12,562.83 crore from Rs 13,083.03 crore yesterday.

The group flagship, Reliance Industries was at the vortex of activity with traded volumes on BSE and NSE aggregating over 160 lakh shares today from average daily volumes of around 20-25 lakh shares in the last one month.

The RIL stock opened at Rs 278 on the BSE, Rs 5.40 lower than the previous close of Rs 283.40. Within a few minutes, the stock fell Rs 15.35 to the day