RIL has Rs 25,000 cr for retail

Mukesh Ambani announces fresh oil discovery in Krishna-Godavari basin.

Reliance Industries Chairman Mukesh Ambani presented his next "big idea" at the company's 32nd annual general meeting today: And this was the company's plan to usher in a retail revolution, with an investment of Rs 25,000 crore in the next four years.

Reliance Retail Ltd, the wholly owned subsidiary of RIL that is to spearhead the retail foray, will have an equity of Rs 10,000 crore.

Ambani outlined a three-pronged growth strategy for the company. This called for focus on urban infrastructure and special economic zones, new-economy businesses in life sciences and health care, and cross-border acquisitions in existing and new businesses.

Reliance Retail would have a footprint in 1,500 cities and towns through convenience stores, supermarkets, speciality stores, and hypermarkets; and will create one million jobs.

The objective was to cater to both mass markets as well as the luxury segment through an array of international and Indian brands. The company would partner farmers, logistics operators, small shopkeepers and traders, Ambani said.

Providing a status report on the company's oil and gas activities, he said crude oil discoveries had been made in MA1 well in the deep-water D6 block of the Krishna Godavari (KG) basin.

"More than the size, this discovery signifies a large geological play that could result in future discoveries," he said.

Crude had also been found in two wells in the KGIII 6 shallow water block. The company was also working on fast monetisation of the gas discoveries made in 2002 in the D6 block of the KG basin.

On the refining and marketing front, Ambani pointed out that once Reliance Petroleum went on stream, Jamnagar would become the largest petroleum-refining hub in the world, with a capacity to process 1.24 million barrels of crude per day.

RIL was also targeting to become the fourth largest producer of polypropylene in the world.

In April this year, it expanded the capacity of its Jamnagar polypropylene plant by 280,000 tonnes a year. By 2008, a further 900,000 tonnes' capacity would be added to Reliance Petroleum's new export-oriented refinery.

He also mentioned that RIL was building the next-generation polyester business, going beyond the needs of the textile industry, to provide solutions to packaging, paper, and construction industries.

Ambani said the year 2010 would be significant for Reliance shareholders and would see the company taking a quantum jump.

Meanwhile, Reliance Industries moved up by 0.44 per cent to close at Rs 985.55 on the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) today, touching an intra-day high of Rs 1,010.95.

The volume was brisk, with 18.24 million shares valued at Rs 1,812 crore changing hands on the BSE and the National Stock Exchange.