RIL AGM Highlights: Big Investment In New Energy Business, Aramco Deal Progress, JioPhone Next And More...

Reliance Industries Ltd. Chairman Mukesh Ambani made a slew of big announcements and laid out the future roadmap for the company at its 44th annual general meeting.

In his closely watched address to shareholders, Ambani gave updates on a deal with Saudio Aramco, announced a mega investment in RIL's new energy business and launched a new phone in collaboration with Google.

Here are some of the key announcements:

• RIL's partnership with Saudi Aramco for its oil-to-chemicals business expected to formalise this year.

• Aramco chairman Yasir Al-Rumayyan to join RIL as an independent director.

• RIL will invest Rs 75,000 crore in its New Energy business over next three years—will set up renewable energy complex and four giga factories.

• JioPhone Next, an affordable smartphone co-developed with Google, to launch on Sept. 10, 2021.

• Jio working on 5G trials, will collaborate with Google Cloud for solutions.

• Trials being done with Facebook for integrating JioMart and WhatsApp.

Watch his full address here or read on for details of the announcements...

Investors reaction to big announcements by Mukesh Ambani remained muted as the RIL stock closed 2.35% lower in trade today.

Mukesh Ambani said that Reliance Jio is doing a trial run with Facebook to integrate JioMart with WhatsApp.

The initial response from customers has been encouraging, Ambani said.

Google-parent Alphabet's CEO Sundar Pichai, who made an appearance at the AGM via video, said that they will tie-up with Reliance Jio in a new 5G partnership.

"A new 5G partnership between Google Cloud and Jio will help more than a billion Indians connect to a faster internet, support businesses in digital transformation and lay foundation for next phase of India’s digitisation," Pichai said.

Mukesh Ambani has revealed the JioPhone Next—an affordable smartphone co-developed with Google that is aimed at first-time internet users.

The phone will be available in the market from Sept. 10, 2021. "JioPhone Next will be by far the most affordable smartphone globally," Ambani said.

The phone will be powered by a highly optimised version of Android, Ambani said.

Mukesh Ambani laid out the roadmap of RIL's new energy business which will see the company produce everything from solar modules to batteries and fuel cells.

"We have started work on developing the Dhirubhai Ambani Green Energy Giga Complex on 5,000 acres in Jamnagar," Ambani said. "It will be amongst the largest such integrated renewable energy manufacturing facilities in the world."

Ambani said that RIL plans to build four Giga Factories for each of these task:

• Production of solar energy.

• Storage of intermittent energy.

• Production of green hydrogen.

• Fuel cell factory for converting hydrogen to usable power.

Ambani said that RIL will set up two additional divisions—Renewable Energy Project Management and Construction Division and a Renewable Energy Project Finance Division—to further strengthen its renewable ambitions.

Mukesh Ambani has said that he expects a partnership between RIL and Saudi Aramco to be "formalised in an expeditious manner this year".

Despite challenges due to the pandemic, the two parties have made "substantial progress" in talks, Ambani said. He added that he expects strong global growth to benefit RIL's oil-to-chemicals business.

Ambani also announced that H.E. Yasir Al-Rumayyan, Chairman of Saudi Aramco, will join RIL as an independent director.

Mukesh Ambani said that the company's business grew despite challenges due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

This was mainly due to a sharp increase in its consumer business, which now contributes roughly half of RIL's operating profit.

Ambani added that the company created 75,000 new jobs in the past year.

Chairperson and Founder of the Reliance Foundation Nita Ambani said that the Jio Institute will start classes at its Navi Mumbai campus from 2021 itself.

Mukesh Ambani kicked off the annual general meeting by offering condolences to those who lost lives during the pandemic and lauding the humanitarian efforts of RIL.

"Our business and financial success since last AGM have exceeded expectations," Ambani said. "But what has given me far greater happiness than our business performance is RIL’s humanitarian efforts during these exceedingly difficult times"

India's largest conglomerate Reliance Industries Ltd. will hold its annual general meeting today, an affair which will be closely eyed by investors and businesses alike.

Chairman Mukesh Ambani is expected to take centre stage with his address to shareholders via video at 2 p.m. More than 30 lakh shareholders of Reliance Industries Ltd. will want the billionaire to provide clarity on the company’s plan for the year ahead.

In the past Ambani has used to the RIL AGM to make mega-announcements for his company. And this time is no different. It is expected that Ambani will make key product announcements and chart the roadmap for initiatives like e-commerce, 5G rollout and its net zero pledge.

Investors are hoping for more clarity on RIL’s plan to turn net carbon zero by 2035 and reduce dependence on its legacy oil-to-chemicals business. Also in their wish-list is more clarity on RIL’s retail ecosystem and operations of JioMart, which now is present across 200 Indian cities.

Details about Reliance Jio’s rollout of 5G services will also be watched. Investors are keen to know how Jio is collaborating with its partners like Qualcomm for the 5G rollout.

Still, one of the most crucial announcements awaited is any update on a deal with Saudi Aramco. RIL had signed an MoU with Aramco for a 20% stake in its O2C business for $15 billion. Since then, negotiations have been dragging due to Aramco’s initial public offer and the subsequent pandemic-led restrictions.

Ambani’s speech could also see the unveiling of an affordable smartphone that Jio has been developing with Google. The locally assembled Google-powered smartphone, according to Bloomberg, is set to be revealed at the AGM. However, amid supply chain snags due to the pandemic, its official debut is unlikely before August or September.

RIL's AGM has been known to grab eyeballs across the country. Traditionally, it sees physical participation of close to 3,000 investors, besides being watched on television screens and various digital platforms. Last year, it conducted the event online amid the Covid-19 pandemic-led restrictions. The virtual AGM saw nearly 3 lakh concurrent viewers across 42 countries and 468 cities.

Track all live updates from the 44th RIL AGM here...