Reliance AGM 2023 Highlights: Jio Financial Services to enter insurance sector, says Mukesh Ambani; Isha, Akash, and Anant join RIL board

Santosh Meena, Head of Research, Swastika Investmart Ltd.

The AGM held by Reliance was largely uneventful for the market. The key highlight was the succession plan. However, the company’s stock experienced a decline due to the absence of clear timelines regarding the telecom and retail IPOs.

Presently, the market’s attention is shifting towards the global scenario, which exhibits some degree of stability. Nonetheless, lingering uncertainties on a global scale, particularly stemming from developments involving the US and China, continue to influence market sentiment.

1. Digital Tools Everywhere

2. Green Energy and Green Materials Everywhere

3. Financial Empowerment, Entrepreneurship, and Gainful Employment Everywhere

4. Healthy and Responsible Consumption Everywhere

5. Quality Education and Healthcare Everywhere

Nita Ambani has stepped down from the Board of Directors of Reliance. She will continue to be the Chairperson of Reliance Foundation, and in that role, she will attend all Board meetings as a permanent invitee to the Board. And as always, we will continue to benefit from her advice.

RIL Board recommends appointment of Isha, Akash, and Anant Ambani on the Board of Directors. Its truly an emotional day for me. It reminds me of the day when my father inducted me to the Board of Directors when I was only 20 years old, says Mukesh Ambani.

I shall continue to be the Chairman and MD for 5 more years, he added.

I shall especially mentor Akash, Isha and Anant so that they can provide collective leadership and dependably take Reliance to greater heights of growth and value in the decades ahead, he added.

I am supremely confident that the value that your company will create for all its stakeholders over the next decade will be multiple times greater than what it has generated over the past 45 years.

RIL is building a strong pipeline of young professional leaders, he added.

Growth driven by perpetual demand is one of our principles, Ambani added.

“As a member of the International Olympic Committee, it has been my dream to bring the Olympics to India. I’m happy to share with you that we have taken the first steps in that direction. In October this year, we will host the 141st IOC Session at the Nita Mukesh Ambani Cultural Centre. You’ll be proud to know that for this historic session bid, there were 75 votes cast for India, and only 1 vote against. So, with a thumping majority, we are bringing the Olympic Movement back to India after a gap of 40 years, “ Nita Ambani said.

India is making progress when it comes to climate change, he added.

In partnership with the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, we launched a special initiative to empower one million women entrepreneurs across India. Over the next three years, this initiative will support and engage women in farm and non-farm income generating activities, helping them achieve an annual income of at least ₹1 lakh.

“The Gates Foundation and Breakthrough Energy are excited to partner with Reliance. I believe there is no problem too big for the innovators of India and the world. I look forward to making continued progress against some of the world’s greatest challenges together—and helping many more people live healthy, productive lives,” he added.

From Culture to Climate, Education and Sports to Women’s Empowerment, Healthcare to Livelihoods, Rural Transformation to Disaster Mgmt, we work in over 54,000 villages. We have so far touched lives of over 70 million Indians, she added.

“I am very proud of the work Reliance Foundation (RF) has been doing under the leadership of Nita Ambani. Be it in the use of technology or being amongst the first to provide relief to those affected by disasters, or working with partners, our Reliance Foundation teams are working tirelessly to make lives better for millions of Indians,” Mukesh Ambani said.

Affordable, sustainable and safe energy is a trilemma India is facing. Reliance’s new energy and new materials business squarely addresses this trilemma. Reliance has a golden chance to transform India from a net energy importer to a net energy exporter, Ambani said.

We have become India’s latest bio energy producer by setting up two biogas plants for compressed bio gas in Jamnagar. Our target is to set up 100 such CBG plants in the next 5 years consuming 5.5 million tonnes of agro residue and organic waste, and, thus, mitigating 2 million tonnes of carbon emissions

We will be deploying leading-edge Heterojunction Technology for manufacturing one of the highest-efficiency Solar PV cells and modules globally, for utility scale and roof-top power generation. We will further continue to innovate and maintain global leadership

One of the significant cost drivers in manufacturing of wind blades is carbon fiber. Our foray into manufacturing carbon fiber at large scale provides us with a unique advantage to further integrate and reduce costs of wind turbines, says Mukesh Ambani

Priority is to deliver solar giga facility in Jamnagar. This will be one of the largest most technologically advanced, flexible and cost competitive solar giga factory global and we’ll be converting sand into solar PV modules.

We will further leverage our engineering and construction capabilities, along with our giga-scale manufacturing

ecosystem, to accelerate and enable installation of at least 100 GW of renewable energy generation by 2030, he added.

“We are accelerating our journey to achieve Net Carbon Zero by 2035 through use of Renewables and Bioenergy for a sustainable and green business. We are well on our way to build the New Energy ecosystem of manufacturing Solar, Wind, Batteries, Hydrogen, and Bio-energy platforms. This will enable us to speed up development of our Renewable generation assets to deliver round-the-clock electricity for our captive requirements as well as to meet the growing needs of Indian consumers,” RIL Chairman said.

We are pursuing further enhancement with our exploration efforts in KG-UDW1 and KG-UDW2 blocks in the Krishna-Godavari Basin with an aim to sustain gas production over the next 15-20 years. Reliance is today India’s only company with proven capabilities in exploring and producing oil and gas from deep and ultra-deep blocks. We will leverage these capabilities in related renewable energy areas like Off-shore Wind and Geothermal.

Successfully commissioned MJ field deep water project. RIL is on its way to enhance production to 30 mscmpd. RIL is the only company in india producing oils and gas from deep and ultra deep water-blocks, he added.

JFS will enter insurance segment, partner global players. The digital first architecture of JFS gives it a headstart to reach billions of Indians. RIL has capitalised JFS with a net worth of Rs 1.2 lakh crore, he added.

Global investors recognise that India is at the cutting edge of digital transformation. We see enormous potential for growth in India’s AMC sector. BlackRock’s presence in india grown to 1000s of employees in Mumbai, Gurgaon and Bangalore, he said..

There is unprecedented opportunity to transform the AMC industry through digital solutions and technology, he added.

JFS JV with Blackrock will offer innovative investment services, Ambani added

We remain resolute in our vision to play the role of a facilitator across all aspects of retail commerce in India, and work with merchants across the country so that the entire society benefits. Together, we hope to continue to exceed expectations, inspire creativity, and bring joy to our customers. This is our promise.

JioMart onboard 25,000 artisans, weavers and micro entrepreneurs, she said.

Over 1.6 lakh products of artisans representing 150+ cities across 24 states are available on our platforms. Many of these products are made by our highly skilled tribal craftsmen. We are determined to further increase their participation in the coming years, she added.

We have acquired with several heritage Indian brands for our fmcg business like campa cola, she said.

Continue to be the partner of choice for international brands across segments, she added.

We spend time understanding what customers want and create new products, formats, and platforms. We consider our business a success only when it leads to shared prosperity for millions of stakeholders, she added.

Our digital and new commerce sales contributed about ₹50,000 cr, accounting for a fifth of revenues. We have invested over $10 bn in last 2yrs, focusing on integration, growing in-house brands, and improving supply chain, Isha Ambani said.

Reliance Retail currently serves over 98% of India’s pin codes through offline, online channels.

Reliance Retail has more than 2.5 lakh employees on its rolls.

Invested over $10 billion in the past two years in Reliance Retail, Isha Ambani added.

JioCinema has now become India’s largest digital entertainment destination for blockbuster movies, OTT originals, the biggest reality shows, and exclusive content from leading global studios like HBO and NBCU. In short, JioCinema delivered industry-leading engagement metrics, registering strong growth in paid subscribers, the Chairman said.

AI Revolution is reshaping the world around us, and sooner than we think, intelligent applications will redefine and revolutionise industries, economies, and even our daily life. To stay globally competitive, India must harness AI for innovation, growth, and national prosperity.

We are ready to deploy 2000 MW of AI computing, says Mukesh Ambani.

Jio promises AI to everyone and everywhere. We need AI ready digital infra to handle high computation requirements. Thus we committed to deploy 2000MW for AI computing, RIL Chairman added.

:Today, we are also announcing the Jio True5G Lab, a facility designed to accelerate industry transformation using Jio True5G. In this facility, our technology partners and enterprise customers can develop, test, and co-create multiple industry-specific solutions. The inaugural Jio True5G Lab will be located at the Reliance Corporate Park, acting as the nerve centre for shaping India’s 5G future,” Akash Ambani said unveiling True 5G lab. The inaugural true 5G lab will be located at Reliance corporate park.

Entertainment is changing rapidly worldwide, shifting from linear to interactive. Jio is accelerating this trend in India. Our Set-Top Box supports JioCinema and JioTV+, with leading global streaming apps.

Jio Set-Top box is gateway to a world of entertainment, from TV channels to streaming content, to large-screen games, to digital apps. The Jio Smart Home app includes eRemote for Jio Set-Top Box. You can use smartphone as a gamepad.

Working closely with partners like HP and Google for JioCloud PC, he added.

We have golden opportunity to catch up and build enterprise business, that mirrors in scale to our consumer business. Jio platforms to provide end to end services to enterprises in India and abroad, says Ambani.

We can currently connect around 15,000 premises daily, says Mukesh Ambani on JioAirFiber. The services will be launched on Ganesh Chaturthi.

Jio’s own portfolio of 5G radios range from small cells to large tower-based radios, addressing the entire spectrum of outdoor and indoor usage scenarios. And our focus on continuous innovation has positioned us to be among the first globally to develop 6G capabilities.

Per-user data consumption on Jio’s network has also surged, with the average user now consuming over 25 GB every month. This translates to a monthly data traffic of 1100 crore GB, representing a 45% year-on-year growth. When we look at geopolitical situation there is dark clouds hovering but there is certainty that India will rise, says Mukesh Ambani

We have also built our own low-power small cells to go deeper into specific pockets of high consumption, like tourist spots and temples, in a highly energy-efficient manner. These advantages, along with our massive scale of deployment, mean that the best 5G coverage, capacity, and experience is possible only with Jio 5G.

The stock price of Reliance Industries gained 0.22% or Rs 5.5 on NSE to trade at Rs 2,473. The intraday high was Rs 2,484, while the intraday low was Rs 2,463.

Reliance Industries consolidated net profit in the June quarter fell 10.8 per cent year-on-year to ₹16,011 crore, weighed down by its dominant oil-to-chemicals business. The revenue at 2.1 lakh crore was down 5.3 per cent year-on-year.

Both net profit and revenue were also down sequentially. The numbers were below street estimates that had forecast net profit at ₹16,509 crore and revenue at ₹2.15 lakh crore.

The company’s EBITDA, at ₹41,982 crore, however, rose 5.1 per cent due to the consumer and the upstream businesses that offset the decline in O2C (oil-to-chemical) revenue. Read our complete report here.

VK Vijayakumar, Chief Investment Strategist at Geojit Financial Services

“Market will be keenly watching for any indications on value unlocking in Reliance Retail and Telecom businesses. Also any announcements regarding the status of the mega green energy and battery projects also will be keenly watched.”

“All eyes would be on RIL AGM and its announcement focusing on Jio Financial future outlook post demerger and other high hopes on Future Retail IPO, Reliance Jio IPO and company’s succession plans in the future. RIL has a lot of plans on cards for value unlocking which started from Jio Financials but first initial reactions post listing did not meet the D-street’s expectations,” Prashanth Tapse, Research Analyst Sr VP Research, Mehta Equities Ltd, said.

“I believe Mukesh Ambani would be focusing more on the Jio Financial plan of action in coming days, which would give a road clear for further value unlocking of retail and Jio telecom ventures. Technically RIL is under short buildup trend so any close above Rs 2,500 can be a turning point for the stock and AGM highlights will be highly watched. We are neutral and investors should wait and watch for the AGM outcome before taking any action in RIL and Jio Financial,” Tapse added.

From a discovered price of ₹261.85 a share to Friday’s closing of ₹212.25 a share, the stock of Jio Financial Services has had its brush with reality. It is understood that institutional investors, mainly mutual funds owning the stock are dumping it, causing this fall. The 18 per cent decline (till Friday) in share price is being termed as ‘technical adjustments’.

Should JFS stock excite you?

Fundamentally, there’s not much to support JFS’ investment thesis. It may have a fabulous business model but that’s still on paper. The execution and collection teams, which are key for the lending and insurance businesses, remain the critical missing pieces. Read our comprehensive analysis here.

Last week, Qatar Investment Authority announced that it will invest ₹8,278 crore (around $1 billion) in Reliance Industries’ subsidiary, Reliance Retail Ventures for 0.99 per cent equity stake at an equity valuation of ₹8.3 lakh crore, double that of three years ago

In 2020, Reliance Retail Ventures had raised ₹47,265 crore from a clutch of global investors for a 10 per cent equity stake.

The equity valuation had then been ₹4.2 lakh crore. The company said in an exchange filing that the transaction valued RRVL “among the top four companies by total equity value in the country.” Read our complete report here.

Jio Financial Services has over 22 lakh shares changing hands in a large trade. Buyers and sellers identity not known immediately.

The stock gained 2.82% to trade at Rs 220.55 on NSE.

When Mukesh Ambani addresses shareholders on Monday, investors expect the billionaire to divulge more details on the initial public offering plans for its retail and telecom units, say media reports.

Ambani, Chairman of Reliance Industries Ltd, will address shareholders at its 46th annual general meeting by video on Monday. His once-a-year speech to investors — similar to Warren Buffett’s annual letters to Berkshire Hathaway shareholders — has over time evolved into an highly anticipated pageant, when the tycoon announces grand new initiatives.