RIL plans 1:1 bonus issue; to invest Rs 75,000 cr in new energy ecosystem

“RIL has sent a notice to the stock exchanges that the Board of Directors will meet on September 5 to consider issuing bonus shares in the ratio of 1:1. When Reliance grows, we reward our shareholders handsomely,” Ambani said. The last bonus issue that RIL had announced was in 2017 in the ratio of 1:1. It had announced four bonus issues since 1983.

Shares of RIL closed 1.51 per cent higher at Rs 3,040.85 on the BSE on Thursday.

By 2025, Jamnagar will become the cradle of our new energy business, he said. The Dhirubhai Ambani Green Energy Giga Manufacturing Complex will be the world’s largest, most modern, modular, and integrated ecosystem at a single location, he said.

“Our complete ownership and automation of the integrated value chains will allow us to maximise margins that are higher than those of stand-alone, non-integrated players. To support our investments, we are committed to partnering with leading global technology companies, building world class, state-of-the-art R&D capabilities, and expanding our large, dynamic talent pool of PhDs, technologists, and engineers from various nationalities,” Ambani said.

He said Reliance spent over Rs 3,643 crore in FY24 towards R&D, taking RIL’s spend on research to over Rs 11,000 crore ($1.5 billion) in the last four years alone. “We have more than 1,000 scientists and researchers working on critical research projects across all our businesses. Last year Reliance filed over 2,555 patents, mainly in the areas of bio-energy innovations, solar and other green energy sources, and high-value chemicals,” he said.

According to Ambani, by the end of this year, RIL will commence the production of its own solar photovoltaic (PV) modules. “In the following quarters, we will complete the first phase of our integrated solar production facilities. This includes modules, cells, glass, wafer, ingot, and polysilicon, with an initial annual capacity of 10 GW. Our giga-factory is designed for modular expansion at minimal cost and in the shortest time possible,” he said.

“We have fully integrated and indigenised the HJT technology from REC Singapore, our wholly owned subsidiary, to develop 1 Gen bifacial solar panels with cell efficiency exceeding 26 per cent,” he said.

RIL has already begun construction of an integrated advanced chemistry-based battery manufacturing facility with a 30 GWh annual capacity at Jamnagar. “Production will commence by second half of next year. We will start by assembling Battery Energy Storage Systems (BESS) for utility scale applications and pack solutions for residential, commercial, industrial, telecom, and mobility markets,” Ambani said.

Progressively, over the next few quarters, RIL will integrate backward to cell manufacturing and eventually to battery chemicals production. This will create the world’s only fully integrated battery giga-factory, driving synergies across the value chain, he said.

RIL has begun work on establishing a fully automated, multi-GW electrolyser manufacturing facility on the west coast of India, which will be ready by 2026, he said. “This giga-factory will be fully adaptable, capable of supporting various technologies such as Alkaline, PEM, and AEM. The facility is built using Industry 4.0 standards and will be expandable in a modular fashion to meet market demand,” he said.

“In parallel, we are building capabilities for futuristic electrolysis-based technologies to tackle challenges in energy efficiency and capital cost reduction for our next-gen electrolysers,” he said.

Reliance Retail to enter luxury jewellery

RIL arm Reliance Retail said it has ambitious plans to enter the luxury jewellery segment with a curated and design-led experience. “We are exploring the fashion jewellery and accessories segment to broaden our market reach,” RIL Director Isha Ambani said.

Ambani said the retail arm is establishing 7-Eleven as a leading 24×7 convenience destination, offering localised fresh food and beverages tailored to the Indian palate. “I am confident that we will achieve our goal of doubling our retail business in the next 3 to 4 years,” she said.