In just five years, Ambani’s digital startup has acquired 420 million-plus subscribers, bankrupted several other operators and will soon launch one of the world’s cheapest smartphones in partnership with Alphabet Inc.’s Google.
Gautam Adani, who earlier this year took his spot behind Ambani as Asia’s second-richest man, wants to be the world’s largest renewable energy producer by 2030.
Although Ambani’s initial plans aren’t overly dominant — he wants to meet 100 gigawatts of Modi’s green energy target of 450 gigawatts by 2030 — that’s probably because he’s yet to scope the policy terrain.
The goal, which is running behind schedule, is to have Aramco as a strategic partner in Reliance’s cash-spewing refinery on India’s west coast and reposition it at the center of a low-carbon oil-to-chemicals empire.
Meanwhile, the listed entities in the Adani Group have a little more than $3.5 billion of annual Ebitda and combined net debt in excess of $19 billion.
After a spectacular surge over the past year, the smaller group’s share prices have wobbled recently amid concerns around some opaque foreign funds’ outsize exposure.
Then there’s the foray into the unfamiliar world of technology services: Not only does Ambani want to be the first off the block with 5G in India, he also aims to sell to other telecom operators globally, competing perhaps with Huawei Technologies Co.
Mukesh Ambani’s own past battle with younger brother, Anil, for a division of family assets would be a reminder that he needs to use Reliance’s cost-of-capital advantage to nurture self-sustaining conglomerates for each of his three grown children to manage.
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