Image Credit: argaam.com, forbes.com
The 44th annual general meeting (AGM) of Reliance Industries Ltd.(RIL) saw an important announcement with regards to Reliance’s partnership with Saudi oil company Aramco. Yasir Al-Rumayyan, chairman of Aramco and governor of the Saudi government’s Public Investment Fund (PIF) will be joining the board of Reliance as an independent director. Rumayyan is replacing YP Trivedi who has decided to retire from the board.
“I am sure that we will immensely benefit from his rich experience,” Mukesh Ambani said talking of the Aramco chief’s induction.
In its 2019 AGM, Reliance had announced a stake sale of 20% to Aramco in its oil-to-chemical business. However, owing to the pandemic, oil prices fell dramatically and the deal couldn’t move ahead. But the deal may finally be back-on-track with Ambani announcing a formal partnership with the Saudi oil firm later this year. “We look forward to welcoming Saudi Aramco as a strategic partner,” he said at the 2021 AGM.
Ambani called the move to be a start of the internationalization of Reliance with more international plans coming in future. Headquartered in Dhahran, Saudi Arabia, Saudi Aramco or the Saudi Arabian Oil Company is among the largest companies in the world in terms of revenue.
Among other major announcements, the Reliance Industries Chairman announced a plan to build four Giga factories and the launch of JioPhone Next, a smartphone that would be among the most affordable in the world.
Following the AGM, the share price of RIL closed at 2,147.80 after falling by 2.61% over the course of the day.