• Saudi Aramco’s chairperson Yasir al-Rumayyan’s appointment to the Reliance’s board
• The strategic partnership with Saudi Aramco is a part of Reliance agenda to expand its oil-to-chemical business
• Reliance is developing a Dhirubhai Ambani Green Energy Giga Complex to create solar energy

Mukesh Ambani-led Reliance Industries officially announced the strategic deal with Saudi Aramco, at its 44th annual general meeting (AGM) held today at 2 p.m.

The strategic partnership with oil major Saudi Aramco is a part of the company’s vision of achieving accelerated growth in its oil-to-chemical (O2C) business, Reliance’s Chairperson and Managing Director Ambani announced today. He further added that the partnership is expected to be “formalised in an expeditious manner during this year.”

"We operationalised the JV [joint venture] with BP [of UK] in fuel retailing, using technology and innovation to deliver new customer value. The demand and margin environment for petrochemicals had recovered to pre-COVID levels by March. I am confident that our O2C [oil-to-chemicals] business will benefit from the strong global growth environment,” Ambani.

Saudi Aramco’s chairperson Yasir al-Rumayyan’s appointment to the Reliance’s board is seen as another positive sign for this deal initially announced in 2019. “He is one of the most renowned names in energy finance and technology globally. I am sure that we will immensely benefit from his rich experience with one of the world's largest companies, and also one of the largest sovereign wealth funds in the world,” Ambani said.

Here are some of the highlights from Reliance Industries’ AGM

• RIL to invest over ₹60,000 crore in new energy business:
  
  Ambani, at the 44th AGM, also specified Reliance Industries’ mega plans for green energy this year with four new projects -- integrated solar photovoltaic module factory, advanced storage battery factory, electrolyser factory, fuel cell factory. It has also established a Reliance New Energy Council.
  
  The company is working on its first integrated Solar Photovoltaic Gigafactory that will create solar energy. It targets to achieve costs that are lowest in the world to ensure affordability of our solar modules. Besides this, Reliance has started work on developing the Dhirubhai Ambani Green Energy Giga Complex on 5,000 acres in Jamnagar in Gujarat. “It will be amongst the largest such integrated renewable energy manufacturing facilities in the world,” Ambani said.

• Reliance looks to boost its E&P business:
  
  “In our E&P [exploration and production] business, BP and Reliance commenced production in the KGD6 basin. Our JV brought two of our three toughest deep water gas projects to production. This has been accomplished in record time and set a new global benchmark for capital costs… This will establish Reliance again as one of the largest domestic producers of gas in India, meeting 20 percent of India's gas demand. E&P will again be a source of significant value and sustained earnings growth over the next decade,' Ambani said.

• Google and Reliance have announced a new 5G partnership today at the AGM:
  
  “As a part of these collaborations, Reliance will also shift its core retail businesses to Google cloud infrastructure. They will be able to take advantage of Google’s artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML), e-commerce and demand forecasting offerings. Harnessing the quality and performance of Google Cloud will enable these businesses to scale up as needed to respond to the customer demand. Empowering businesses as they embark on their digital journeys, is a key part of our mission in India. I am excited for the innovation this partnership will help unleash.”

• JioPhone Next, a 4G smartphone developed by Jio and Google, will be available in India from September 10.
  
  “JioPhone Next is a fully featured smartphone supporting the entire suite of applications from both Google and Jio,” Ambani added.

Here is a full list of highlights from Mukesh Ambani’s virtual address at Reliance Industries’ AGM:

• “Jio became the first operation, outside of China, to achieve 400 million subscribers,” said Ambani.
• Reliance Industries conducted 6.8%, or ₹1,45,143 crore, of India’s total merchandise export across 107 countries.
• The company paid ₹21,044 crore for customs and excise duty. About ₹85,306 crore as goods and services tax (GST) and value added tax (VAT). Nearly, ₹3,213 crore as income tax.
• Reliance added 75,000 new jobs in the financial year 2021.
• Reliance Retail’s growth to triple in the next 3-5 years: “We are committed to grow our business so that we are among the top 10 retailers globally. I am confident that Reliance Retail is on a hyper growth trajectory to grow at least 3x in the next 3-5 years.”
• “Today, Reliance is producing over 11% of India’s medical grade liquid oxygen,” Nita Ambani, a director of RIL, said in her address during the AGM.

SEE ALSO:

Reliance announces JioPhone Next smartphone in partnership with Google – available from September 10
Jio and Google come together for 5G, leveraging Google’s cloud expertise and Jio’s networking prowess
Google insiders say they're unhappy with its risk-averse style as the company grows, with 36 VPs quitting in a year