The Hindu Business Line : Anil Ambani meets Chidambaram — Reliance ownership issues still unresolved

This comes only a day after news regarding charges levelled by Mr Anil Ambani, who is also a Member of Parliament, against `unscrupulous individuals' working for Reliance Infocomm, of allegedly tapping his telephone.

Reliance Infocomm had refuted the charges. It appears that after a long lull, the ownership settlement issues of the Reliance Group are once again finding its way into media. Those in the know of the settlement admit a few `contentious issues' have cropped up that the peacemakers are finding difficult to resolve.

It is no secret that a resolution of the ownership issue was pretty much in sight towards the middle of last month with control over Reliance Infocomm set to change hands from Mr Mukesh Ambani to his younger brother. To that extent, fresh charges by Mr Anil Ambani implicating a Director of Reliance Infocomm caught many unawares.

"Evidently, this can only be seen as a way to build pressure through the media at the negotiation table. On the one hand you have Mr Anil Ambani levelling criminal charges against a Director of the company that he is expected to gain control over. On the other hand the Mukesh camp has begun giving out `positive stories' on Infocomm, indicating their continued interest in the welfare of the company. Clearly, all this is part of strategic manoeuvring by both sides to build pressure on each other," said a source familiar with the developments.

High on the list of unresolved matters in the ongoing battle is the availability of gas from the Krishna Godavari deepwater fields of Reliance Industries for the Dadri power project that is being put up by Reliance Energy.

As per the broad guidelines of the reported settlement, Reliance Industries Ltd, flagship of the group, along with Indian Petrochemicals Corporation Ltd was to remain with Mr Mukesh Ambani.

It has always been the claim of RIL that the KG exploration blocks, that has got the Government nod for a $2.49 billion development plan only yesterday, will remain an integral part of the company.

Given the location of the Dadri project, if gas from the KG fields fails to materialise, Reliance Energy will be left with limited alternatives - gas from Iran, Bangladesh or Myanmar, all of which will involve building a huge delivery mechanism.

Clearly, all these blips will need to get smoothened out soon as the Ambani brothers will have to face the RIL shareholders in an AGM some time in May, point out the sources.

True, the settlement that was expected in late March or early April has got delayed but the process will be over in a month's time, they reiterate.

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