Reliance group M-cap crosses Rs 1,00,000 crore

The market capitalisation of the Reliance group, India's largest private industrial house, crossed the Rs 1,00,000 crore (Rs 1 trillion) mark yesterday.

The market capitalisation of eight Reliance group companies on January 14, 2004 stood at Rs 1,00,522 crore.

The market capitalisation of the eight companies is based on the outstanding equity shares of group companies as on September 30, 2003 "" according to data released to the stock exchanges "" and today's market prices.

The group's total market capitalisation has climbed 132 per cent in the last eight months, from Rs 43,391 crore on April 25, 2003, when the Sensex hit a six-month low, to Rs 100,522 crore today.

Flagship Reliance Industries is, of course, the largest single component in the pool, with its market capitalisation at Rs 83,419 crore today, accounting for 83 per cent of the group's market capitalisation. Reliance Industries has an asset base of Rs 63,737 crore and a net worth of Rs 30,327 crore.

IPCL, which was acquired from the government of India in September 2002, added Rs 5,533 crore to the pool while BSES, which became a group company in April 2003, added Rs 9,300 crore.

The market capitalisation of the group's financial arm, Reliance Capital, is Rs 1,808 crore. Recron Synthetics (Rs 184.22 crore), Central India Polyesters (Rs 112.48 crore), Reliance Industrial Infrastructures (Rs 111.44 crore) and India Polyfibres (Rs 53.59 crore) account for the rest of the group's market capitalisation.

The Tata group is a distant second with a market capitalisation of Rs 65,036 crore, followed by the AV Birla group (Rs 26,474 crore), Bajaj-Mukand (Rs 11,604 crore) and Sterlite (Rs 10,878 crore).

Among standalone private companies, only Wipro crossed the Rs 100,000 crore figure in February 2000, when its market capitalisation was Rs 220,000 crore.

Wipro's market capitalisation now stands at Rs 40,878 crore, followed by Infosys (Rs 37,759 crore), Bharti Tele-Ventures (Rs 22,593 crore) and Ranbaxy (Rs 21,107 crore).