Mukesh Ambani's Reliance Industries to ride on Jio, retail to double size

Consumer business will contribute as much as energy, petrochem in a decade, says Ambani

Consumer-centric businesses would be the focus of Reliance Industries (RIL) in the coming years, indicated its chairman, Mukesh Ambani, while addressing shareholders at the company’s 41st Annual General Meeting on Thursday.

“As the ‘golden decade’ rolls on, our consumer businesses (Reliance Retail and Jio) will contribute nearly as much to the overall earnings of the company as our energy and petrochemical businesses,” he said.

The statement assumes significance because all these years, the petroleum and refining businesses have been major contributors to the firm’s profits and have provided cash to nurture newer businesses such as retail and telecom. RIL is