ASIA'S richest man Mukesh Ambani has begun executing a succession plan for his $200-billion (£159.08 bn) energy-to-technology conglomerate Reliance Industries.
He appointed his three children - Isha, Akash, and Anant - to the board of the company which he will continue to chair for five more years.
Till now, the three children have been involved only at operating business-level.
The board of Reliance met ahead of the company's annual general meeting to approve the appointment of twins Isha and Akash as well as Anant, as the "non-executive directors of the company," the firm said in a stock exchange filing on Monday (28).
At the shareholders' meeting, Ambani said US Ivy League university-educated scions have "earned their stripes" and he saw "the flame" of his legendary father Dhirubhai shine in them.
The 66-year-old tycoon, who joined the board of India's most valuable company at the age of 20 years in 1977, said, "Today, I see both my father and me in Isha, Akash, and Anant. I see the flame of Dhirubhai shine in all of them."
He said he would mentor them for the leadership role.
"I shall continue to perform my duties and responsibilities as chairman and managing director for five more years, with greater vigour."
Akash Ambani and his wife Shloka (Photo by SUJIT JAISWAL/AFP via Getty Images)
Ambani has been talking about succession since 2021. Last year, he handed over the baton of India's largest mobile firm Reliance Jio Infocomm Ltd to Akash, and identified retail business for Isha, 31, and new energy business for Anant, 27.
Jio Infocomm is a subsidiary of Jio Platforms, in which Meta and Google hold stakes and is still chaired by Mukesh Ambani. Reliance Industries Ltd is the parent of Jio Platforms.
Reliance also said Ambani's wife Nita has stepped down from the board to focus more on strengthening the firm's charity arm. She will continue to attend all board meetings as a permanent invitee in capacity as the chairperson of Reliance Foundation.
Reliance has till now had three main business - oil and petrochemicals, telecom and retail - one each identified for the three siblings. Recently, it has added financial services business, to which Isha has been appointed as a board member.
Akash, who attended Brown University, was part of a team that brokered multi-billion dollar investment in Jio Platforms, and also mentors the group's IPL cricket team. Isha, who graduated from Yale University and studied MBA at Stanford University, has been driving the expansion of Reliance Retail into new categories and geographies.
Anant Ambani with his wife Radhika (Photo by SUJIT JAISWAL/AFP via Getty Images)
Anant, who also studied in Brown University, is involved with the recently launched new energy business that is supposed to help offset emissions from Reliance's mainstay fossil fuel business. An animal lover, he was the force behind building a zoo in Gujarat and is also said to take keen interest in corporate affairs and security detailing of his father.
Reliance said their "appointment will take effect from the date they assume office after approval by the shareholders."
While retail and digital services are housed in separate wholly-owned subsidiaries, the oil-to-chemical business is a functional division of Reliance. The new energy business is also with the parent firm.
The three businesses are almost equal in size.
Ambani was embroiled in a bitter inheritance dispute with his younger brother Anil after their father Dhirubhai died in 2002 without a will.
The brothers fought a bitter battle for control of Reliance Industries. After a protracted public spat, their mother brokered the split in 2005; Mukesh took oil and petrochemicals while Anil got telecommunications, power, and financial business.
But their fortunes diverged - while Mukesh rose to become the richest Asian, Anil pleaded "zero" net worth to a London court in 2020.
The brothers, however, seemed to have reached a detente in recent years. In 2019, Mukesh helped Anil to make a $77 million (£61.25m) payment that allowed him to escape jail. They also annulled a non-compete agreement, allowing Mukesh to re-enter the telecom business with Jio, and now a financial business unit.
A Stanford dropout, Ambani turned his father's textiles-to-petrochemicals business into India's most powerful conglomerate. Reliance's Jamnagar refinery is now the world's biggest single-site integrated refinery complex while Jio is the largest telecom firm with 450 million subscribers and its retail business is the biggest network of shops.
In July, Reliance reported weaker-than-expected quarterly profits, weighed down by its oil-to-chemicals arm even as its consumer-facing divisions posted healthy profits.
THE UK economy contracted unexpectedly in May, marking the second consecutive monthly decline, according to official data released on Friday. The figures present a challenge for the Labour government as it attempts to revive economic growth.
Gross domestic product fell by 0.1 per cent in May, following a 0.3 per cent contraction in April, the Office for National Statistics (ONS) said in a statement.
Economists had forecast a 0.1 per cent increase in GDP.
The data comes at a time when prime minister Keir Starmer's government is dealing with global challenges, including US tariffs and persistent inflation.
The Labour government’s fiscal strategy relies heavily on economic growth, particularly after recent reversals on welfare cuts and winter fuel payments for pensioners.
Finance minister Rachel Reeves described the figures as "disappointing" and said there was "more to do."
Labour has announced plans to reduce red tape and has unveiled a multi-billion pound investment programme aimed at the National Health Service and infrastructure to boost growth.
In separate data published by the ONS on Friday, UK exports to the United States increased by £0.3 billion in May. This followed a record fall in April when President Donald Trump's tariffs took effect.
"Growth is becoming incredibly difficult to achieve for the government," said Lindsay James, investment strategist at Quilter.
"The plans put in place so far are unlikely to move the needle in the absence of improving business and consumer sentiment in an environment of ongoing cost pressures," she added.
ONS director of economic statistics Liz McKeown said there were "notable falls in production and construction" which affected GDP in May.
She said the decline in production was led by "oil and gas extraction, car manufacturing and the often-erratic pharmaceutical industry."
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The bank's commitment to green lending reflects focus on sustainability (Photo: Getty Images)
BANKING major State Bank of India (UK) has cut interest rates on its buy-to-let mortgage products to help landlords reduce borrowing costs.
The bank said the rate cuts would help landlords invest in rental properties and meet growing demand for rental homes across the UK.
For the Standard Product Range, interest rates have been reduced by up to 35 basis points across all Loan-to-Value (LTV) tiers for five-year fixed-term products. In the SPV Product Range, rates have been cut by up to 40 basis points. Additionally, a flat fee has been introduced on larger loans for limited companies, aiming to simplify the lending process, a statement said.
The Houses in multiple occupation (HMO) product range has seen significant improvements. Rates have been reduced by up to 90 basis points on two-year fixed products and up to 50 basis points on five-year fixed products. Non-green properties now benefit from a flat rate of 5.15 per cent for five-year terms.
Fees for five-year products have also been lowered to 1.50 per cent for 50 per cent and 65 per cent LTV. Furthermore, green properties receive an additional discount of 10 basis points. Also, pricing for Multi-Unit Freehold Blocks (MUFB) has been brought in line with the HMO product range, offering similar rate reductions and terms.
Abhishek Sahay, chief business officer at SBI UK, said the bank wanted to support landlords with better lending deals.
"We understand the importance of service standards and have added capacity to our underwriting team to process applications in a timely manner," he said. "We recognise the crucial role landlords play in the UK housing ecosystem, and these rate reductions are designed to help them thrive in a dynamic market."
He added that the bank's ongoing commitment to green lending reflects focus on sustainability and reduction in the carbon footprint of the housing sector.
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Starlink will next need to acquire spectrum from the government, build ground infrastructure, and carry out testing and trials to meet the agreed security requirements. (Photo: Reuters)
INDIA’s space regulator on Wednesday granted Starlink a licence to begin commercial operations in the country, removing the final regulatory barrier for the satellite internet provider.
The company, led by Elon Musk, has been waiting since 2022 for licences to start operations in India. It received an initial approval last month from India’s telecom ministry and was waiting for clearance from the space regulator.
The licence, issued by the Indian National Space Promotion and Authorization Centre (IN-SPACe), is valid for five years.
Earlier on Wednesday, Reuters reported, citing sources, that Starlink had secured the licence from IN-SPACe.
Starlink is now the third company to receive approval to enter the Indian satellite communications market. India has previously cleared applications from Eutelsat’s OneWeb and Reliance Jio.
The company will next need to acquire spectrum from the government, build ground infrastructure, and carry out testing and trials to meet the agreed security requirements.
Musk and Reliance Jio’s Mukesh Ambani had disagreed for several months over how spectrum should be allocated for satellite services. The Indian government later supported Musk’s position that spectrum should be assigned, not auctioned.
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Jaguar Land Rover (JLR) reported a 10.7 per cent drop in sales for the April–June quarter, as a temporary pause in shipments to the United States and the phase-out of Jaguar’s legacy models weighed on volumes.
The company, owned by India’s Tata Motors, sold 87,286 units to dealers worldwide during the quarter, compared to 97,755 units in the same period last year.
Retail sales dropped 15.1 per cent in the three months to the end of June, JLR said in a statement on Monday. The company cited a halt in exports to the US in April as one of the main reasons behind the decline. The pause followed the imposition of a 25 per cent duty by President Donald Trump on all foreign-made vehicles sold in the US, one of JLR's key markets.
JLR does not manufacture cars in the US. Its Range Rover lineup is produced in Britain, subject to a 10 per cent levy, while its top-selling Defender SUVs are built in Slovakia, which falls under the higher 25 per cent tariff.
North America, which accounts for around one-third of JLR’s global sales, saw a 12.2 per cent drop in volumes in the first quarter. Jaguar’s luxury sedans, SUVs and sports cars saw a 72 per cent decline in sales, falling to 2,339 units, as part of a planned wind-down of legacy models. Jaguar is set to become a fully electric brand by 2026.
Excluding Jaguar’s performance, JLR’s overall sales declined by 5.1 per cent.
In the UK, Jaguar’s sales were also affected by the phase-out of older models in preparation for its electric vehicle line-up. According to automotive trade body SMMT, British car exports to the US dropped by over 50 per cent in May. However, a new trade agreement between the UK and US is expected to support future sales. The agreement reduces tariffs on UK car exports to 10 per cent from 27.5 per cent, up to an annual limit of 100,000 vehicles.
JLR is among the top car exporters from Britain and contributes about two-thirds of Tata Motors' revenue. Both JLR and Tata Motors are expected to announce their first-quarter earnings in August.
In June, JLR revised its forecast for earnings margin before interest and taxes for the fiscal year 2026 to 5–7 per cent, down from the earlier target of 10 per cent, citing global uncertainty triggered by US tariffs.