Reliance bets on Jio IPO, AI, FMCG; markets flash caution

Shares slipped on Friday, with experts pointing to challenges in taking telecom overseas

- Nehal Chaliawala

Reliance Industries' 48th annual general meeting on Friday turned into a showcase of the group's next big bets—from setting a clear timeline for Jio's public listing to unveiling bold global ambitions in consumer and telecom businesses, and doubling down on artificial intelligence.

Yet, even as RIL chairman Mukesh Ambani and his three children—Akash, Isha and Anant—laid out an expansive vision across industries, investors reacted coolly.

Reliance shares slipped on Friday, with experts pointing to challenges in taking telecom overseas as a likely reason.

Jio Platforms Ltd—a subsidiary of Reliance Industries that houses Reliance Jio Infocomm and other digital businesses of the group—will go public by the first half of 2026, months before the 10th anniversary of telecom market leader Jio Infocomm, 68-year-old Mukesh Ambani said at the AGM.

The Reliance Chairperson's eldest son, Akash Ambani, who heads the group's telecom and digital businesses, said with more than 500 million subscribers in India, the company will now look to expand overseas.

In Reliance Consumer Products Limited (RCPL), the group aims to build the largest FMCG (fast-moving consumer goods) company in India, leveraging brands such as Campa Cola, Mukesh Ambani said, taking the fight directly to incumbent market leaders Hindustan Unilever and ITC Ltd.

His daughter and Akash's twin, Isha Ambani Piramal, who heads the group's retail business, said the company will invest 40,000 crore in the next three years to create Asia's largest integrated food parks.