Categories
-Top News UK News

Reliance denies reports of its intent to bid for BT

“The article is completely speculative and baseless. We expect greater diligence and verification of facts before publishing such articles,” it added…reports Asian Lite News.

Calling reports completely speculative and baseless, Reliance Industries on Monday informed the stock exchanges that it has no intention to bid for UK telecoms group BT, media reported.

We categorically deny any intent to bid for the UK telecoms group, BT, formerly British Telecom, as reported in the article titled “Reliance Mulling Bid for UK’s Telco BT Group” published in The Economic Times dated November 29, 2021,” Reliance said in a statement.

“The article is completely speculative and baseless. We expect greater diligence and verification of facts before publishing such articles,” it added.

Following the reports earlier today, Reliance shares gained nearly 4% to eventually close 1.04% higher at ₹2,437.70 on NSE. BT stock has also gained as much as 9% in the UK markets, Mint reported.

A news report suggested that Mukesh Ambani-led Reliance might make an unsolicited offer to buy into BT or try to get a controlling share. It could also partner with BT’s networks arm Openreach and fund its fibre expansion plans, the report added.

The British company, whose shares have more than halved in the last five years, was already the subject of takeover speculation after Franco-Israeli billionaire Patrick Drahi bought a 12.1% stake this year, according to the report from Mint.

Meanwhile, the stocks of Sintex Industries have been rising ever since Reliance Industries emerged as one of the bidders who showed interest to acquire the bankrupt firm.

As per reports, Reliance Industries, ARES Capital-backed Assets Care and Reconstruction Enterprises, Welspun Group company Easygo Textiles, Trident, Himatsingka Ventures and GHFC have shown interest in Sintex Industries.

The company’s shares have doubled in the past month, rising 172 per cent so far in 2021, exchange data showed.

Currently, the company’s stock price is valued at Rs 12.25 per share.

The Gujarat-based textile company is currently undergoing corporate insolvency and resolution process in the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT).

Sintex Industries, which was incorporated back in 1931, deals in textiles and yarns and has a presence across major Asian, European, US and African markets.

ALSO READ-UK panel slams Pak crackdown on minorities

Categories
-Top News UK News

Reliance mulls bid for controlling stake in British Telecom

The ET report quoting unnamed sources said the deliberations are early stage and may not occur eventually. It remains unclear if Ambani has met the top management of BT, CEO Philip Jansen and outgoing chairman Jan du Plessis…reports Asian Lite News.

Reliance Industries Ltd (RIL) is mulling a potential bid for the UK-based telecommunications giant British Telecom (BT), is an indication of Mukesh Ambani’s plans to take Jio global. Out of 419 institutional investors in the UK company, some may cash out for the right offer.

RIL is expected to make an unsolicited offer to buy a stake into the company or even stake a claim for a controlling share in the company, according to an Economic Times report.  

RIL may alternatively propose to partner with BT’s optic arm Openreach and fund its expansion plans. BT, however, earlier said it was junking plans to get a financial or strategic joint venture partner. It said the company would fund its expansion plans itself. The market capitalisation of the FTSE 100 company was $20.63 billion as of November 26. If RIL plans to go through with the deal, it would be the biggest such outbound mergers & acquisitions deal by an Indian company.

The ET report quoting unnamed sources said the deliberations are early stage and may not occur eventually. It remains unclear if Ambani has met the top management of BT, CEO Philip Jansen and outgoing chairman Jan du Plessis.

The development comes close on the heels of Ambani’s conglomerate being outbid by a PE consortium comprising Apax Partners and Warburg Pincus which scooped up T-Mobile’s Dutch unit for Rs 43,329 crore. The bid was indicative of RIL’s global telecom aspirations. The billionaire has been shunting between Mumbai and London where he recently bought the iconic Stoke Park estate for £57 million.

BT is one of the UK’s biggest telecommunications and network providers. It has a presence in 180 countries and is the incumbent operator of fixed-line telecom services in the UK. It also offers fibre broadband, IP TV, television and sports broadcasting and mobile services.

Analysts accuse the company of holding on to its bureaucratic legacy since the 1980s when it was privatised. The company’s stock has fallen 53% in 5 years, touching an 11-year low in 2020-21.

ALSO READ-ADNOC, Reliance sign pact for chemical project

Categories
Arab News Business India News

Aramco eyes new investments in India after Reliance scraps deal

Saudi Aramco said it will continue to look for investment opportunities in India after Reliance Industries Ltd. scrapped a plan to sell a stake in its oil-to-chemicals unit to the Middle Eastern company…reports Asian Lite News

“India offers tremendous growth opportunities over the long term,” Aramco said in a statement on Sunday. It will “continue to evaluate new and existing business opportunities with our potential partners.”

Aramco had signed a non-binding letter of intent in August 2019 for a potential 20% stake in Reliance’s oil-to-chemicals unit valued at about $15 billion. Reliance said the companies would walk away from the deal on Friday.

Aramco

“Reliance and Aramco have a longstanding relationship and will continue to look for investment opportunities in India,” Aramco said.

Reliance, in its statement, also said it will continue to be Aramco’s preferred partner in India and “is committed” to a pact with the firm, without specifying further.

As recently as June this year, Reliance said it expected to finalize the investment deal with Aramco and appointed the latter’s chairman, Yasir Al-Rumayyan an independent director on its board.

That revived hopes of the deal coming through after Mukesh Ambani, Asia’s richest person, said in 2020 that the pandemic and its impact on fuel demand had created hurdles for the transaction.

Reliance Industries’ investors dump shares

Meanwhile, shares of Reliance Industries Ltd on Monday tumbled over 4 per cent after it shelved a proposed deal to sell a 20 per cent stake in its oil refinery and petrochemical business to Saudi Aramco for $15 billion.

Aramco eyes new investments in India after Reliance scraps deal

The market heavyweight stock tanked 4.22 per cent to Rs 2,368.20 on the BSE. At the NSE, it tumbled 4.17 per cent to Rs 2,370.

After missing two self-imposed deadlines, billionaire Mukesh Ambani’s Reliance Industries Ltd has shelved a proposed deal to sell a 20 per cent stake in its oil refinery and petrochemical business to Saudi Aramco for an asking of $15 billion, as the Indian firm focuses on the new energy business.

“Due to evolving nature of Reliance’s business portfolio, Reliance and Saudi Aramco have mutually determined that it would be beneficial for both parties to re-evaluate the proposed investment in O2C business in light of the changed context,” the Indian firm said late Friday, adding that it will continue to be Saudi Aramco’s “preferred partner” for investments in India’s private sector.

ALSO READ: India Invites World to Join Its Energy Transition Journey

Ambani had in company’s annual general meeting of shareholders in August 2019 announced talks to sell a 20 per cent in the oil-to-chemicals (O2C) business, which comprises its twin oil refineries at Jamnagar in Gujarat, petrochemical assets and 51 per cent stake in fuel retailing joint venture with BP, to the world’s largest oil exporter.

At that time, he had announced the deal would close by March 2020. The deadline was missed and the company blamed pandemic controlling restrictions, imposed towards the end of March 2020, for hampering due diligence.

Categories
Business UAE News

ADNOC, Reliance sign pact for chemical project

The agreement capitalises on the growing demand for these critical industrial raw materials and leverages the strengths of ADNOC and Reliance as global industrial and energy leaders….reports Asian Lite News

Reliance Industries and Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (ADNOC), a state-run oil company of the UAE, have finalised an agreement for a petrochemical joint venture several months after signing a broad framework agreement.

The two on Tuesday announced that through the agreement, Reliance will join a new world-scale chlor-alkali, ethylene dichloride and polyvinyl chloride (PVC) production facility at TA’ZIZ in Ruwais, Abu Dhabi.

The agreement capitalises on the growing demand for these critical industrial raw materials and leverages the strengths of ADNOC and Reliance as global industrial and energy leaders.

The project will be constructed in the TA’ZIZ Industrial Chemicals Zone, which is a joint venture between ADNOC and ADQ.

The agreement continues the momentum of ADNOC’s downstream and industry growth plans in line with ADNOC’s 2030 strategy.


Petrochemical, refining and gas growth projects are currently under construction, with a number of projects also recently completed across the downstream and industry portfolio.

ADNOC is gearing up for growth with TA’ZIZ, the world-scale chemicals production hub and industrial ecosystem based in Ruwais, with investment in excess of 18 billion AED (Arab Emirates Dirham) and a number of further growth projects in the downstream and industry sector.

Under the terms of the agreement, TA’ZIZ and Reliance will construct an integrated plant, with capacity to produce 940 thousand tonnes of chlor-alkali, 1.1 million tonnes of ethylene dichloride and 360 thousand tonnes of PVC annually.

Sultan Ahmed Al Jaber, UAE Minister of Industry and Advanced Technology, and ADNOC Managing Director and Group CEO, said: “We are delighted to attract an investor of Reliance’s caliber to partner with ADNOC and ADQ in accelerating growth at TA’ZIZ. This agreement is a significant milestone, as we continue to grow a globally competitive industrial ecosystem and highly attractive investor value proposition.”

Welcoming the initiative, Reliance Industries Chairman and Managing Director Mukesh Ambani said: “We at Reliance are excited to enter into a strategic partnership with ADNOC for establishing a world-class and world-scale chemical project at TA’ZIZ in Ruwais. This important milestone further bolsters our long-standing relationship with ADNOC, reaffirming our faith in the global vision of the UAE’s wise leadership.

“It is also yet another testimony to the enormous potential in advancing India-UAE cooperation in value enhancement in the energy and petrochemicals sectors. The project will manufacture ethylene dichloride, a key building block for production of PVC in India. This is a significant step in globalising Reliance’s operations, and we are proud to partner with ADNOC in this important project for the region.”

Chlor-alkali is used in water treatment and in the manufacture of textiles and metals. Ethylene dichloride is typically used to produce PVC, which has wide range of applications across housing, infrastructure and consumer goods. The market for these chemicals is expected to enjoy steady growth supported by the needs of growing demand, particularly in Asia and Africa.

ALSO READ: UAE, Israel ink key pact on economic, trade cooperation

Categories
-Top News Arab News Saudi Arabia

Saudi Aramco chairman to join RIL Board

Addressing the Meeting, Ambani said that he expects RIL’s partnership with Saudi Aramco will be to be formalised in an “expeditious manner during this year”…reports Asian Lite News

In a major development in the much anticipate Reliance Industries, Saudi Aramco partnership, Yasir Al-Rumayyan, the Chairman of Saudi Aramco will join the RIL board as an Independent Director, announced RIL CMD Mukesh Ambani.

Addressing the 44th Annual General Meeting on Thursday, Ambani said that he expects RIL’s partnership with Saudi Aramco will be to be formalised in an “expeditious manner during this year”, after obtaining required regulatory clearances.

He said that Rumayyan’s joining the board is also the beginning of internationalisation of Reliance and more announcements on international plans of the company would come in times to come.

Further, RIL is set to disrupt the new energy business amid climate concerns.

“We have established the Reliance New Energy Council,” the CMD said.

Ambani also said that the company’s performance in FY21 exceeded expectations despite the ongoing pandemic.

Addressing the AGM he also commended the company and its employees for the humanitarian efforts during the pandemic.

ALSO READ: UNESCO lauds Saudi education portal