Anil Ambani group scrips end higher on plan announcements

MUMBAI - The scrips of three largest firms in the Reliance Anil Dhirubhai Ambani Group ended higher on the stock markets after near-to-medium-term business plans were unveiled at their respective annual shareholders’ meetings here Tuesday.

The three companies that saw their market capitalisation rise Tuesday, post their annual general meetings, were Reliance Power, Reliance Capital and Reliance Communications.

Backed by the target of 25,000 MW capacity set for 2015, Reliance Power ended with a 1.68 percent gain at Rs.163.25 on the Bombay Stock Exchange, having risen 2.5 percent intra-day to touch a high of Rs.164.60.

Group Chairman Anil Ambani had told shareholders that Reliance Power had successfully concluded India’s largest fund-raising exercise by any company worth Rs.50,000 crore ($11.1 billion) to finance 10,000 MW worth of projects.

“Our ambition is to achieve 25,000 MW of power generation by 2015,” Ambani told the meeting, adding that 5,000 MW of capacity will be achieved over the next 24 months and 20,000 MW in the three years after that.

Another major Group company, Reliance Capital, rose 1.49 percent intra-day to touch Rs.823.90, after Ambani announced a special infrastructure lending initiative with a target of Rs.50,000 crore as asset base and 18-20 percent return.

Profit taking, however, pulled down the scrip, which ended at Rs.814, up 0.28 percent.

Reliance Capital, Ambani said, also intended to list its insurance business on the stock markets to unlock shareholder value apart from entering the commercial banking industry in the near term.

“We have always regarded banking as a high priority and a huge potential opportunity, and are evaluating the different options contained in the guidelines,” he said.

The third annual general meeting was of Reliance Communications, the country’s second largest telecom firm. Ambani said the company was considering up to 26 percent equity sale to a strategic investor and floating a public issue for its towers arm.

The company’s stock went up almost 3 percent to touch a high of Rs.174.65, but slipped towards closing bell to end trade at Rs.170.40.

“There is substantial interest in the market for such an offering given that we are now the only telecom operator in the country without a foreign partner,” said Ambani. “The idea is to become a debt-free company in three years.”