Reliance Industries Ltd has taken on board Saudi Aramco chairman and Governor of the Kingdom’s Public Investment Fund, Yasir Al-Rumayyan as an Independent Director in the context of a USD 15 billion deal.
Reliance chairman Mukesh Ambani, while describing Al-Rumayyan’s joining the Board as the beginning of internationalisation of Reliance, said that continued engagement and resolve from both sides – even amidst the pandemic – highlighted testimony of a strong relationship between Saudi Aramco and Reliance, which is expected to to be formalised in an expeditious manner this year.
Al-Rumayyan is the main person involved in Saudi Arabia’s plans to transform the economy by creating new sectors and diversifying revenues away from oil.
In August 2019, Reliance had highlighted sale of a 20% stake in its O2C business — that comprised its twin oil refineries at Jamnagar in Gujarat and petrochemical assets — to the world’s largest oil exporter.
The deal was supposed to completed March 2020 but had been delayed and only started this year with the two companies discussing a cash and share deal, that comprised Aramco paying with its shares initially and staggered cash payments over the years, according to a local daily.
Reliance Industries — an Indian multinational conglomerate with based in Mumbai – is involved in engaged in energy, petrochemicals, natural resources, retail, telecommunications, and textiles sectors across India and has 14 members on the RIL board of which half are independent directors.
