RIL to discuss financial sector strategy in board meet next week

When the board of Reliance Industries (RIL) meets on Thursday, plans for the financial sector will be high on the agenda and final details of the deal with DE Shaw would be discussed.

RIL, led by billionaire Mukesh Ambani, last month formed a joint venture with DE Shaw group, to offer an array of financial services. But it did not share the investment plans or equity structure or even the leadership of the new venture.

But as part of his financial services, RIL may not take the retail route but dabble into energy trading, private equity, mutual fund and infrastructure funding. DE Shaw’s core expertise include energy and carbon trading, energy and carbon derivatives, private equity, mutual funds and other security-linked products.

“We would like to leverage DE Shaw’s expertise and offer the entire spectrum of services it has,” said a RIL official. Earlier last June, RIL chairman Mukesh Ambani, during the companies’ annual general meeting last year told shareholders that RIL plans to double its enterprise value to $80 billion within the next decade.

The venture with DE Shaw gains significance as RIL is also trying to get a majority control in leading NBFC and infrastructure finance company IL&FS.

The company is on a diversification spree and had forayed into telecom last May after both bothers, Mukesh and Anil Ambani annulled the non-compete agreement.

Sources said, besides DE Shaw, RIL would also look at a number of other partners for various specific financial service businesses’ serving both ends, corporate and individual customers.