The Reliance Infocomm launch, an aggressive advertisement and the thrust into varied areas spell out the AmbanisÂ’ big dream. But the absence of Anil Ambani at the launch has puzzled many, says Sucheta Dalal.
Reliance Industries Ltd on Friday reported an 11 per cent drop in its June quarter net profit largely due to weak oil-to-chemical (O2C) vertical and higher interest and depreciation cost. Net profit was Rs 16,011 crore, or Rs 23.66 per share, in April-June - the first quarter of current 2023-24 fiscal year - compared with Rs 17,955 crore, or Rs 26.54 a share, earning a year back, according to a company's stock exchange filing.
Billionaire Mukesh Ambani's Reliance Industries Ltd on Friday reported a 46 per cent jump in net profit for the three months ended June on the back of bumper earnings from oil and telecom businesses. The oil-to-retail-to-telecom conglomerate's consolidated net profit rose to Rs 17,955 crore during April-June period -- the first quarter of 2022-23 fiscal year -- from Rs 12,273 crore in the year-ago period, it said a stock exchange filing.
Facing the brunt of farmer's ire over perception of it being a beneficiary of new farm laws, Reliance Industries on Monday said it neither buys foodgrains directly from farmers nor is it in the business of contract farming. In a statement, billionaire Mukesh Ambani's firm said its subsidiary Reliance Jio Infocomm Limited (RJIL) has filed a petition in the Punjab and Haryana high court seeking "the urgent intervention of government authorities to bring a complete stop to the illegal acts of vandalism (of telecom towers) by miscreants." Reliance said it "has nothing whatsoever to do with the three farm laws currently debated in the country, and in no way benefits from them."
In the third infrastructure sharing agreement between firms run by brothers Mukesh and Anil Ambani, Reliance Industries' telecom arm has agreed to use Reliance Communication Ltd's intra-city fibre network to roll out 4G services.
With the latest spectrum acquisition, the telecom venture would be the holder of the largest quantum of liberalised spectrum.
The company has similar pact with Bharti Infratel.
On Monday, Ambani had said the Reliance group was open to join hands with Bharti Airtel for improving telecom network for 4G services in Punjab.
Reliance Jio, India's top telecom operator, announced a 12-27 per cent hike in mobile tariffs -- the first in two and half years, setting the stage for other operators like Vodafone Idea to raise charges. The company has also restricted the access of unlimited free 5G services for customers. The hike comes immediately after the spectrum auction, as per the anticipation of sector experts.
Reliance Jio Infocomm, expected to start commercial operations in the Indian telecom space in the next few months, had a net worth of Rs 5,026.16 crore, the company said in a statement submitted to the Department of Telecommunications (DoT) on Monday.
The optic fibre cable infra was with Jio Digital Fibre and the tower infra with Reliance Jio Infratel
The Aam Aadmi Party has demanded the dismissal of Telecom Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad alleging a conflict of interest that has prevented him from issuing a notice to Mukesh Ambani's Reliance Jio on the 4G issue, a charge vehemently denied by Prasad who said he never gave advice or appeared for the company.
"We are delighted to welcome Google as a strategic investor in Jio Platforms. We have signed a binding partnership and an investment agreement under which Google will invest Rs 33,737 crores for a 7.7 per cent stake in Jio Platforms," Mukesh Ambani said at the company's annual general meeting.
At Rs 2,999, LYF Flame is one of the most affordable VoLTE smartphone in the market now.
The launch of Reliance Jio Infocomm Ltd last September, particularly the tariff war it has unleashed on its competitors, has deepened the crisis facing India's telecom sector. One offshoot of this is the major drop in earnings reported by industry leaders Bharti Airtel and Idea Cellular with each passing quarter. Aslam Hunani/Rediff.com tells the story in numbers.
The company will invest Rs 7,000 cr over 2-3 years to launch services in eastern, northeastern states.
The amount from securitisation has been utilised to repay rupee debt, saving significant interest costs for the company.
Once launched, RJio services will cover over 18,000 towns and over 200,000 villages across all the 22 service areas of the country
Interrupting a two-month streak of decline, outward foreign direct investment (FDI) rose sequentially to $1.85 billion in July over $1.07 billion in June, an increase of 73 per cent. However, it was lower than the $2.18 billion in July last year, according to the Reserve Bank of India data. Outbound FDI, expressed as financial commitment, has three components - equity, loans, and guarantees.
Bharti Airtel on Friday announced the closure of its agreement with Reliance Jio Infocomm to transfer the 'Right to Use' of Airtel's 800 MHz spectrum in three circles to Jio. Airtel said it has received Rs 1,004.8 crore (net of tax) from Jio for the proposed transfer.
MAMI will showcase over 250 films spread across 10 days from October 27 to November 5.
The Unified Licence for all 22 Service Areas across India will make the company the first telecom operator in the country to get pan India Unified Licence, the company said in a statement.
Mukesh Ambani has resigned from the board of his group's telecom arm, Reliance Jio and handed over the reins of the company to elder son Akash, a step seen as succession planning by the 65-year old billionaire. In a stock exchange filing, Reliance Jio Infocomm said the company's board at a meeting on June 27, "approved the appointment of Akash M Ambani, non-executive director, as chairman of the board of directors of the company." This comes after his father resigned with effect from close of working hours on June 27, it said.
Jio, which launched its services in September, had no revenue from operations during October 2016 to March 2017
For the full 2016-17 fiscal, the company generated its highest ever annual profit at Rs 29,901 crore. The annual profit was 18.8 per cent higher than the previous year's.
The deal follows Facebook picking up a 9.99 per cent stake in the firm that houses India's youngest but largest telecom firm on April 22 for Rs 43,574 crore. Within days of that deal, Silver Lake -- the world's largest tech investor -- bought a 1.15 per cent stake in Jio Platforms for Rs 5,665.75 crore. On May 8, US-based Vista Equity Partners bought 2.32 per cent stake in Jio Platforms for Rs 11,367 crore.
Trial offer is only by invite as of now, but is expected to be extended soon to select customers of Reliance Digital Express.
Reliance joins a number of large companies, including the Essar and Adani groups, which are raising loans abroad as interest rates in India remain high.
Strategic direction post-COVID-19 and further details on asset monetisation are key expectations from the 43rd AGM of RIL, analysts said.
Gearing up for its pan-India 4G services launch in coming months, Reliance Jio Infocomm has approached the Department of Telecom for a network test conducted along with security agencies.
Xiaomi India on Tuesday announced its partnership with Reliance Jio to offer the telco's 'True 5G' experience to its consumers. Smartphone models supporting the Standalone (SA) network have received a software update to work seamlessly on Reliance Jio's network, according to a statement. The enabled devices include Mi 11 Ultra 5G, Xiaomi 12 Pro 5G, Xiaomi 11T Pro 5G, Redmi Note 11 Pro+ 5G, Xiaomi 11 Lite NE 5G, Redmi Note 11T 5G, Redmi 11 Prime 5G, Redmi Note 10T 5G, Mi 11X 5G, Mi 11X Pro 5G, Redmi K50i 5G, Xiaomi 11i 5G and Xiaomi 11i HyperCharge 5G.
Reliance Jio Infocomm has moved the Bombay High Court seeking approval for amalgamating its long distance services arm Infotel with itself.
DoT and the company have not done anything that breached the guidelines mentioned in the notice inviting applications for the auction of the BWA spectrum in 2010, it stated in a reply to CAG's draft audit report.
