Made in India, for and by Indians, says Reliance Industries on rights issue

Ahead of its largest rights issue, Reliance Industries (RIL) on Friday said it is a ‘Made in India’, 'Made for India’ and ‘Made by Indians’ company. The statement is in line with Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s call for the nation to turn self-reliant.

In a corporate presentation titled ‘New Reliance for a New India’, released on Friday, RIL termed itself as the best proxy for India’s consumption-driven and tech-propelled growth story. The company said it had always aligned its businesses with national goals and priorities for making India self-reliant, strong and prosperous.

The oil to telecom conglomerate is also preparing the ground for its rights issue, which, once fully paid for, will help it raise around Rs 53,125 crore. The company had earlier indicated that the rights issue could open on May 22, subject to approvals.

Referring to its digital business, RIL said Jio was best placed to equip micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) with cutting-edge, plug-and-play, technology-enabled tools. Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman’s Wednesday media briefing on the Covid-19 economic package also focused on MSME development.

RIL also highlighted deals with BP for its fuel retail business and Saudi Aramco for its oil to chemicals business, as the largest foreign direct investments (FDI) in these segments.

The company added, “Even in a challenging global environment, marquee partners and investors have shown high degree of trust”.

In the last one month, RIL has announced three different deals for Jio Platforms — Facebook agreed to invest Rs 43,574 crore for a 9.99 per cent stake, Vista Equity Partners will invest Rs 11,367 crore for a 2.32 per cent equity stake, and private equity firm Silver Lake will pick a 1.15 per cent stake for Rs 5,655.75 crore.