World Business

Reliance needs to pep up its value

By Rakteem Katakey (China Daily)
Updated: 2010-06-18 10:51

NEW DELHI - Billionaire Mukesh Ambani's Reliance Industries Ltd, India's largest company by market value, must tap the country's hunger for power and communications to boost the stock that has lagged behind key benchmarks, investors say.

The oil refiner and energy explorer has climbed 3.4 percent in Mumbai in the past year compared with a 20 percent gain in India's Sensitive Index and a 12 percent advance in the MSCI Asia Pacific Energy Index.

Investors shied away from the shares as a global recession curbed fuel demand and Mukesh clashed with his younger brother, Anil Ambani, over their business interests.

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A decision on May 23 by the world's richest brothers to scrap a non-competition accord removed curbs imposed after they split India's second-biggest business empire.

Reliance on June 11 acquired an Internet services company for $1 billion and fund manager Deven Choksey says more initiatives may be outlined by Mukesh in his annual speech to shareholders on Friday.

"Now there is clarity about them getting into new sectors and investors look forward to the next phase of growth," said Choksey, chief executive officer of Mumbai-based KR Choksey Shares & Securities, which manages about $123 million for wealthy individuals and owns Reliance shares. "I expect Mukesh Ambani to lay out the road map for new businesses such as telecom and power," he said in a telephone interview.

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