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Agencies
Mumbai, Sept 27: Billionaire Anil Ambani celebrated his family Tuesday, introducing his son Anmol as a new director on the board of his company, Reliance Capital, and announcing that a “virtual merger” of his Reliance Communications with older brother Mukesh Ambani’s Reliance Jio has now been effected.
Anil Ambani was addressing shareholders Tuesday at Mumbai’s Birla Matushri, where four of his companies held their annual general meetings (AGM) one after the other.
“Both brothers are now working together to fulfil Dhirubhai’s dreams,” said Ambani, 57, to a standing ovation. He was referring to their father Dhirubhai Ambani who built the Reliance empire. For many years after their father’s death, Anil Ambani was estranged from brother Mukesh, India’s richest man.
Speaking at the annual shareholders’ meeting of Reliance Communications, Anil Ambani said, “We have all the spectrum we need for 2G, 3G and 4G services plus spectrum trading and sharing agreements with Reliance Jio…For all practical purposes, we have accomplished a virtual merger between Reliance Communications and Reliance Jio.”
He added that his company had crossed 1 million 4G subscribers within 90 days of starting the services. Reliance Jio Infocomm, the new telecom venture of his brother, and Reliance Communications have agreed to share their mobile spectrum. Jio also has an agreement to use Reliance Communications’ mobile towers.
The deal with Jio would help Reliance Communications cut costs, while other telecom companies would have to spend heavily on spectrum to survive, Ambani said, also vowing to aim at cutting his company’s mammoth debt by more than 75 per cent in a year’s time.
Reliance Communications currently grapples with a mountain of debt, which stands at `42,650 crore. “The target is to reduce debt by 75 per cent within a year and once the ongoing merger processes of MTS and Aircel with RCom are complete, it will help reduce debt by `20,000 crore,” said Anil Ambani.
After the merger of smaller rival Aircel with Reliance Communications announced earlier this month, he said, the combined entity will be among the top operators in 12 circles in India.
Ambani introduced son Anmol, 24, at the AGM , saying the latter had brought “tremendous luck” with a 40 per cent surge in share prices.