Reliance Industries Ltd Chairman Mukesh Ambani said his company has made cumulative investments worth over Rs 2.4 trillion to date in Gujarat state, making it the largest investment by a single Indian corporate house in one state. Out of this, Rs 1.25 trillion were invested in the last four years alone, Ambani said, adding that it was Rs 100 billion more than the company had committed in MoUs with the government. These investments will be completed by March of this year.
“Our global scale of investment is an expression of our commitment and faith in the Gujarat story,” Ambani said at the inaugural of the ongoing Vibrant Gujarat Global Summit 2017.
Vibrant Gujarat Summit, which is now in its eighth edition, was started in 2003 by the Prime Minister, Narendra Modi – then the Chief Minister of the state – to invite large scale business investments.
Reliance Industries – India’s largest business conglomerate – has several business ventures running out of the state, including its oil refinery complex in Jamnagar – one of the world’s largest greenfield refinery complexes.
“These investments provide sustained employment, both direct and indirect to over two lakh people, and contribute to Gujarat’s export competitiveness,” Ambani said.
Reliance has several partnerships with small and medium enterprises across textiles, plastics, and retail sectors, and in digital services too through it telecommunications venture – Jio.
The company, founded back in 1966 by Mukesh Ambani’s father Dhirubhai Ambani to trade in polyester, started making investments in Gujarat in 1970s, mainly in fabrics manufacturing.
Later, as it continued to grow into the country’s largest conglomerate, it diversified into petrochemicals, oil refining, oil and gas exploration, organised retail, and telecommunication, among other businesses. Mukesh Ambani has investments in life sciences business as well in his personal capacity.
Ambani said at the summit that the company’s “journey of excellence started from Gujarat state”. Gujarat has attracted highest foreign direct investment in India among all states, he said, adding that it ranked number 1 in “ease of doing business in 2015.
Vibrant Gujarat has become a marquee event and is now almost congregation of the top businessmen, investors and political delegates from across the world, in pursuit of finding attractive investment opportunities.
Source: The Financial Express
