NE BUSINESS BUREAU
MUMBAI, JUNE 3
Reliance Industries Limited (RIL) on Wednesday announced that it has achieved successful closure of India’s largest ever Rights Issue of Rs. 53,124.20 crore. It was subscribed approximately 1.59 times, cumulating to an overall commitment of over Rs. 84,000 crore. The Rights Issue saw a huge investor interest, including from lakhs of small investors and thousands of institutional investors, both Indian and foreign. The public portion of the Rights issue was subscribed to 1.22 times, a company statement said.
The allotment of equity shares will happen on or about June 10, 2020. The rights shares are expected to be listed on the BSE and NSE on or around June 12, 2020 under separate ISIN.
A unique feature of RIL’s Rights Issue was that, despite its record-setting magnitude, it was completed entirely on a digital platform, defying the formidable constraints imposed by the COVID-induced lockdown. And this too was a new record in the history of Indian and global capital markets. None of the stakeholders across 800 Indian cities and many financial centres abroad — regulators, bankers, financial institutions, retail investors, and others — had to step out of their offices or homes, and yet everything related to the Rights Issue was conducted smoothly and with utmost efficiency. This shows not only the power of the emerging digital age but also the potential of India to be a pioneer and an innovator in this age.
Commenting on the success of the Rights Issue, Mukesh Ambani, Chairman and Managing Director of Reliance Industries Limited, said, “I express my sincere thanks to our dear and esteemed shareholders for participating in this Rights Issue and making it a new and proud landmark in the history of India’s capital market.
Since the time of Dhirubhai Ambani, the Founder of Reliance Industries Limited, our shareholders have always been our biggest source of strength. Our decades-old relationship based on trust has consistently spurred us to achieve more. We are delighted and humbled by their extraordinary show of confidence in the future of Reliance.
Our vision is always rooted in furthering India’s inclusive and accelerated growth, propelled by the adoption of digital technologies, that helps improve the lives of 1.3 billion Indians. The tremendous vote of confidence in the Rights Issue convinces us that our shareholders endorse this vision and mission. Their support further strengthens our resolve as we firmly set forth to build a New Reliance for a New India.”
Mukesh Ambani added, “The success of RIL’s Rights Issue, seen in the context of the prolonged nationwide lockdown necessitated by the COVID-19 pandemic, is also a vote of confidence, by both domestic investors, foreign investors, and small retail shareholders, in the intrinsic strength of the Indian economy. I have no doubt that the Indian economy will bounce back to follow a high-growth trajectory in the time to come, and make India a leading Digital Nation in the World.”
