Reliance Industries will invest Rs 1.5 lakh crore across energy, petrochem and telecom businesses over the next three years as it looks at expansions to supplement falling natural gas production.
RIL Chairman Mukesh Ambani, the world's richest energy billionaire, however gave few details on plans for its long-anticipated launch of 4G telecom services.
Reliance, India's fourth-largest company by market value, is eyeing a four-fold increase in revenues from retail business and a sustainable growth in its shale gas business in US, he told company shareholders here today.
The company plans to increase capacity at its existing petrochemical plants and build new ones, drill more wells to boost flagging oil and gas production, open more retail stores and shortly start high-speed broadband service, Ambani said.
"Reliance has embarked on the largest investment programme in its history. We are committed to investing Rs 150,000 crore in the next three years," said Ambani, as his mother Kokila Ambani, wife Nita Ambani and children watched.
"Reliance is making significant investments in all five businesses simultaneously - exploration and production, petroleum refining and marketing, petrochemicals, retail and 4G," he added.
Reliance Jio Infocomm, its telecoms unit, is the only company to have nationwide permits for 4G services but has not started operations even after three years of acquiring the spectrum.
Ambani said he was bullish on the potential for digital services in India, and the unit would more than triple its headcount to 10,000 over next year, but did not say when services will be launched.
Reliance, he said, has invested about Rs 18,000 crore in the telecom venture so far, mostly in acquisition of spectrum and details about "the product and the launch" will be shared at the next Annual General Meeting (AGM) in June 2014.
