Shares of Reliance Industries Ltd (RIL) hit an all-time high of Rs 1,908 on the BSE, up about 1.6 per cent from Friday’s close, pushing its market capitalisation to Rs 12.09 trillion – a record for an Indian company. Since mid-March, the stock has risen over 120 per cent.
Shares of RIL have been on a rise since the oil-to-telecom conglomerate announced its plan to cut its net debt to zero by March 2021 and stake sales in its digital arm Jio Platforms. The company is scheduled to hold its annual general meeting this week.
On Sunday, Qualcomm Ventures, the investment arm of Qualcomm Inc., said it will invest Rs 730 crore for a 0.15 per cent stake in Jio Platforms Ltd, becoming the 12th entity to invest in the digital services subsidiary of RIL in over three months. With this, RIL has sold a total of 25.24 per cent stake in Jio Platforms to Facebook, General Atlantic, TPG, KKR, Silver Lake, L Catterton, Vista Equity Partners, Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, Mubadala Investment Company, and Public Investment Fund (PIF), Intel Capital and Qualcomm Ventures raising Rs 118,318.45 crore.
RIL also raised Rs 53,124 crore through a rights issue. Its net debt was at Rs 1.61 trillion as of 31 March. With these investments, it is now a net debt-free company, Reliance had said.
Brokerage firm Morgan Stanley expects strategic direction post-covid-19 and further details on asset monetisation to drive stock performance as investors look beyond FY21 Q1 challenges.