How RIL quietly reinvented its investment strategy to meet new goals

Nowhere in sight two years ago, the energy vertical now accounts for over a fourth of RIL's $6.4 bn war chest while telecom's share in dipping and retail has clearly become a laggard

Reliance Industries (RIL) has been distilling its investment strategy to meet new goals. The share of the new energy vertical — its key focus area — accounts for more than a fourth (26 per cent) of the total war chest of $6.4 billion, ploughed into acquisitions and picking up stake from 2018 to date, reveals  the latest Morgan Stanley data.

Nearly half the incremental investments made on deals by RIL between August 2020 and September this year ($3.3 billion) has been spent on new energy — acquiring global companies with technology and expertise. By comparison, the telecommunications (telecom) and internet