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Reliance Industries Ltd. (RIL) has announced its intention to consider a 1:1 bonus share issue at its upcoming board meeting on September 5th. This move, designed to boost investor sentiment, will increase liquidity and make RIL shares more accessible to retail investors by halving the current share price post-bonus. While not increasing market capitalization, the bonus share issue signals the management's confidence in the company's future and its ability to service the expanded equity base.
This optimism stems from a series of strategic initiatives designed to drive future growth. During the company's Annual General Meeting (AGM), Chairman Mukesh Ambani highlighted the remarkable progress in various business segments. He revealed that JioAirFiber, Reliance's fiber-based broadband service, has already secured its first million customers within just 100 days and is poised to add another million homes every 30 days, with a target of 100 million home broadband customers.
The success of Jio's 5G rollout was also celebrated, with the company leading India from being 5G-dark to 5G-bright. Over 130 million customers have adopted Jio True 5G in just two years. Ambani introduced JioTV, a platform that combines live TV, on-demand shows, and streaming services like Amazon Prime Video and Disney+ Hotstar, offering a seamless entertainment experience.
Beyond new-age technology, Ambani emphasized RIL's commitment to innovation and sustainability. The company filed over 2,555 patents in the past year, focusing on bio-energy, solar power, green energy, and high-value chemicals. This dedication to sustainability underscores RIL's long-term vision for a greener future.
Ambani's speech also focused on Artificial Intelligence (AI). He believes that the true power of AI lies in making it accessible to everyone. Jio's AI Everywhere For Everyone vision is dedicated to democratising AI by offering powerful AI models and services to everyone in India at affordable prices. Reliance is building a national AI infrastructure to achieve this goal.
Reliance plans to establish gigawatt scale AI-ready data centers in Jamnagar, powered entirely by its green energy sources. By leveraging its infrastructure, networking, operations, software, and data expertise, and collaborating with global partners, Reliance aims to create the world's lowest AI inferencing cost in India. This will make AI applications in India more affordable than anywhere else, making AI accessible to all.
Ambani announced that Jio is set to roll out 'Jio Cloud' by Diwali this year. As a welcome offer, users will get 100 GB of free cloud storage, allowing them to securely store and access all their photos, videos, documents, and other digital content. This initiative further solidifies RIL's commitment to providing cutting-edge technology and services to its users.
The bonus share issue, coupled with the company's strategic vision for the future, further solidifies investor confidence. RIL's dedication to cutting-edge technology, sustainable growth, and making AI accessible to everyone demonstrates a strong commitment to innovation and progress, justifying the generous bonus issue to a large extent.
Source: RIL's Bonus Bonanza: A boost for retail investors as Mukesh Ambani unveils bold plans