Reliance Industries Limited is an Indian multinational conglomerate company, headquartered in Mumbai. It has diverse businesses including energy, petrochemicals, natural gas, retail, telecommunications, mass media, and textiles. Reliance is one of the most profitable companies in India,[2] the largest publicly traded company in India by market capitalisation,[3] and the largest company in India as measured by revenue.[4] It is also the one of the top largest employer in India with over 236,000 employees in the world.[5][6][7][8]
The company is ranked 100th on the Fortune Global 500 list of the world’s biggest corporations as of 2022.[7] Reliance continues to be India’s largest exporter, accounting for 7% of India’s total merchandise exports and it has access to markets in over 100 countries.[9] Reliance is responsible for almost 5% of the Government of India’s total revenue from customs and excise duty. It is also the highest income tax payer in the private sector in India.[9][10] The company has relatively little free cash flows.[11]
1960–1980
The company was co-founded by Dhirubhai Ambani and Champaklal Damani in 1960’s as Reliance Commercial Corporation. In 1965, the partnership ended and Dhirubhai continued the polyester business of the firm.[12] In 1966, Reliance Textile Industries Pvt. Ltd. was incorporated in Maharashtra. It established a synthetic fabrics mill in the same year at Naroda in Gujarat.[13] On 8 May 1973, it became Reliance Industries Limited. In 1975, the company expanded its business into textiles, with “Vimal” becoming its major brand in later years. The company held its Initial public offering (IPO) in 1977.[14] The issue was over-subscribed by seven times.[15] In 1979, a textiles company Sidhpur Mills was amalgamated with the company.[16] In 1980, the company expanded its polyester yarn business by setting up a Polyester Filament Yarn Plant in Patalganga, Raigad, Maharashtra with financial and technical collaboration with E. I. du Pont de Nemours & Co., U.S.[13]
1981–2000
In 1985, the name of the company was changed from Reliance Textiles Industries Ltd. to Reliance Industries Ltd.[13] During 1985 to 1992, the company expanded its installed capacity for producing polyester yarn by over 145,000 tonnes per annum.[13]
The Hazira petrochemical plant was commissioned in 1991–92.[17]
In 1993, Reliance turned to the overseas capital markets for funds through a global depository issue of Reliance Petroleum. In 1996, it became the first private sector company in India to be rated by international credit rating agencies. S&P rated Reliance “BB+, stable outlook, constrained by the sovereign ceiling”. Moody’s rated “Baa3, Investment grade, constrained by the sovereign ceiling”.[18]
In 1995/96, the company entered the telecom industry through a joint venture with NYNEX, USA, and promoted Reliance Telecom Private Limited in India.[17]
In 1998/99, RIL introduced packaged LPG in 15 kg cylinders under the brand name Reliance Gas.[17]
The years 1998–2000 saw the construction of the integrated petrochemical complex at Jamnagar in Gujarat,[17] the largest refinery in the world.
2001 onwards
In 2001, Reliance Industries Ltd. and Reliance Petroleum Ltd. became India’s two largest companies in terms of all major financial parameters.[19] In 2001–02, Reliance Petroleum was merged with Reliance Industries.[14]
In 2002, Reliance announced India’s biggest gas discovery (at the Krishna Godavari basin) in nearly three decades and one of the largest gas discoveries in the world during 2002. The in-place volume of natural gas was more than 7 trillion cubic feet, equivalent to about 120 crore (1.2 billion) barrels of crude oil. This was the first-ever discovery by an Indian private sector company.[14][20]
In 2002–03, RIL purchased a majority stake in Indian Petrochemicals Corporation Ltd. (IPCL), India’s second largest petrochemicals company, from the government of India,[21] RIL took over IPCL’s Vadodara Plants and renamed it as Vadodara Manufacturing Division (VMD).[22][23] IPCL’s Nagothane and Dahej manufacturing complexes came under RIL when IPCL was merged with RIL in 2008.[24][25]
In 2005 and 2006, the company reorganised its business by demerging its investments in power generation and distribution, financial services and telecommunication services into four separate entities.[26]
In 2006, Reliance entered the organised retail market in India[27] with the launch of its retail store format under the brand name of ‘Reliance Fresh’.[28][29] By the end of 2008, Reliance Retail had close to 600 stores across 57 cities in India.[14]
In November 2009, Reliance Industries issued 1:1 bonus shares to its shareholders.
In 2010, Reliance entered the broadband services market with acquisition of Infotel Broadband Services Limited, which was the only successful bidder for pan-India fourth-generation (4G) spectrum auction held by the government of India.[30][31]
In the same year, Reliance and BP announced a partnership in the oil and gas business. BP took a 30 per cent stake in 23 oil and gas production sharing contracts that Reliance operates in India, including the KG-D6 block for $7.2 billion.[32] Reliance also formed a 50:50 joint venture with BP for sourcing and marketing of gas in India.[33]
In 2017, RIL set up a joint venture with Russian Company Sibur for setting up a Butyl rubber plant in Jamnagar, Gujarat, to be operational by 2018.[34]
In August 2019, Reliance added Fynd[35] primarily for its consumer businesses and mobile phone services in the e-commerce space.[36][37]
On the 18th of August 2021, Reliance Industries Limited (RIL) stated that it had shut down its manufacturing units at Nagothane town in Maharashtra.[38]