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Mukesh Ambani’s Reliance Industries has appointed the head of Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund to its board, deepening the ties between the powerful Indian conglomerate and the oil-rich kingdom of the Gulf.
Yasir al-Rumayyan, managing director of the kingdom’s sovereign wealth fund, will join the independent board of directors, Ambani said at the company’s annual meeting on Thursday.
Rumayyan’s appointment has been part of Reliance’s attempt for years remake the family conglomerate, founded by Mukesh Dhirubhai’s father almost 50 years ago, in a 21st century business integrated into the global energy and technology economy.
The trust incorporated a number of strategic investors from technology and private equity into its digital and retail businesses last year. Facebook and Google have seats on the Reliance board Jio Platforms digital subsidiary, in which they have invested billions of dollars.
The incorporation of Rumayyan, who is also president of the state energy giant Saudi Aramco, at the Reliance board, highlights Ambani’s quest to deepen ties with the Gulf kingdom, whose oil and cash are vital to the future of the Indian group’s main refinery business.
Confidence tries it close a $ 15 billion investment of Saudi Arabia for a 20% stake in the conglomerate’s petrochemical and refining assets, first announced by Ambani in 2019.
The deal was delayed by the Covid-19 pandemic and the fall of the economic crisis in Aramco’s finances. Talks were recently revived, with the kingdom considering paying initially for the Reliance deal with shares, and then staggering cash payments for several years.
The PIF accepted it last year invested $ 1.5 billion in Jio, which is part of a $ 20 billion collection from the Reliance subsidiary. The Saudi fund also allocated $ 1.3 billion to Reliance Retail.
Ambani said he was “delighted and privileged” that Rumayyan joined the board, calling him “one of the most recognized names in energy, finance and technology.”
The head of Reliance also said the appointment would accelerate the “internationalization” of the Indian conglomerate, but did not reveal details of what role Rumayyan would play.
Saudi Arabia has a close relationship with India, a major consumer of crude oil in the country. As oil demand growth weakens in the west, the Gulf kingdom is weakening. appealing to the big buyers in Asia to encourage long-term sales.
As with many Indian conglomerates, Reliance is run primarily by family members and long-time associates. Embani’s wife, Nita, serves on Reliance’s board along with Hital and Nikhil Meswani, both sons of one of the company’s founding directors.
Ambani has cultivated relations with Saudi royals and elites, making multiple trips to the country, including the 2019 presentation at Riyadh’s annual “Davos in the Desert” investment summit.
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