RIL hits record high after fuels, mobility JV with BP

Reliance Industries (RIL) rose 2.95% to Rs 1878.50 after the company announced joint venture with energy major BP for India's fuels and mobility markets.

The RIL counter hit a record high of Rs 1884.40 in intraday today. The stock has jumped 20% in last one month compared with 6% rise in the Nifty 50 index. The company now boasts a market capitalization of Rs 11.90 lakh crore.

RIL and BP on Thursday (9 July) announced the start of their new Indian fuels and mobility joint venture, Reliance BP Mobility (RBML). Following initial agreements in 2019, BP and RIL teams have worked closely over the past few months in a challenging environment to complete the transaction as planned. BP has paid RIL $1 billion for a 49% stake in the joint venture, with RIL holding 51%.

The JV, which aims to become a leading player in India's fuels and mobility markets, will leverage RIL's presence across 21 states and its millions of consumers through the Jio digital platform. BP will bring its extensive global experience in high-quality differentiated fuels, lubricants, retail and advanced low carbon mobility solutions.

"India is expected to be the fastest-growing fuels market in the world over the next 20 years, with the number of passenger cars in the country estimated to grow almost six-fold over the period. RBML aims to expand from its current fuel retailing network of over 1,400 retail sites to up to 5,500 over the next five years.This rapid growth will require a four-fold increase in staff employed in service stations - growing from 20,000 to 80,000in this period. The joint venture also aims to increase its presence from 30 to 45 airports in the coming years," RIL said in a statement.

Commenting on the partnership Mukesh Ambani, chairman and managing director of Reliance Industries, said: "Reliance is expanding on its strong and valued partnership with bp, to establish a pan-Indian presence in retail and aviation fuels. RBML will aim to be a leader in mobility and low carbon solutions, bringing cleaner and affordable options for Indian consumers with digital and technology being our key enablers."

RBML has received the marketing authorization for transportation fuels, amongst other necessary regulatory and statutory approvals. The joint venture will begin selling fuels and Castrol lubricants with immediate effect from its existing retail outlets, which will be rebranded to "Jio-bp" in due course.

RIL is India's largest private sector company. RIL's activities span hydrocarbon exploration and production, petroleum refining and marketing, petrochemicals, retail and digital services.

On a consolidated basis, the conglomerate's net profit fell 37.2% to Rs 6,546 crore on 2.4% decline in net sales to Rs 1,36,240 crore in Q4 March 2020 over Q4 March 2019.

Powered by Capital Market - Live News