Shares of Reliance Industries rallied as much as 4% today to a new high of ₹1,514, pushing its market cap past the ₹9.5 lakh crore mark – the first by an Indian company. RIL shares ended 3.5% higher at ₹1,509 with a market cap of ₹9.57 lakh crore. In comparison, the Sensex today ended 0.45% higher. Year to date, RIL shares are up about 34%, sharply outperforming the broader markets.
Last month, when the Mukesh Ambani-led RIL had crossed the ₹9 lakh crore market cap mark, it was also the first Indian company to hit the milestone.
RIL had last month announced that it will set up a new subsidiary to bring all its digital initiatives and apps under a single entity, and infuse ₹1.08 lakh crore equity into this new unit.
The new structure will also create the largest digital services platform company in India. The new entity will continue to work on technologies in areas like healthcare and education, while also looking at next-gen competencies like artificial intelligence, blockchain, virtual and augmented reality, among others.
RIL’s move to create a new subsidiary combining all digital initiatives will make the digital platform increasingly attractive to potential investors, according to analysts.
RIL’s restructuring of telecom/ digital business raises focus on asset monetisation and debt reduction, Morgan Stanley said.
For the September quarter, oil-to-telecom conglomerate RIL had reported an 18.3% year-on-year increase in net profit to a record ₹11,262 crore, backed by strong performances by retail and digital services businesses.
According to Bank of America Merrill Lynch, RIL can become the first Indian company to achieve a market capitalisation of $200 billion in the next two years.
The brokerage firm assumes that the market cap to rise over $200 billion on three informational drivers – new commerce venture, fixed broadband operations and digital initiatives – could add $55 billion enterprise value for the company. The brokerage firm also assumes that its digital initiatives like advertising, lending along with SME/broadband may add $22 billion incremental value.
