This story is from August 3, 2005

After ONGC, RIL scales Rs 1 lakh crore m-cap

Baiju Kalesh & Partha Sinha / TNN / Aug 3, 2005, 00:19 IST

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MUMBAI: Even as his brother Anil battles the energy crisis in Mumbai, Reliance Industries chairman Mukesh Ambani had some reason to celebrate on Tuesday.

After ONGC, RIL scales Rs 1 lakh crore m-cap

MUMBAI: Even as his brother Anil battles the energy crisis in Mumbai, Reliance Industries chairman Mukesh Ambani had some reason to celebrate on Tuesday. On the eve of the Reliance Industries annual general meeting on Wednesday, the company's stock rallied nearly 5%, pushing up its market value to Rs 1.03 lakh crore.
That makes Reliance the first Indian private sector firm �� and only the second company in the country after ONGC �� to breach the Rs 1 lakh crore milestone.Analysts say this is likely to be a big source of strength for Mukesh, who faces 2.5 lakh shareholders for the first time after the acrimonious ownership battle with Anil and the eventual split of the Reliance empire.
It has been a journey that's had its share of ups and downs. From a meagre market cap of just Rs 2,000 crore in 1987-88, Reliance is today the country's largest private sector company with a turnover of Rs 65,000 crore. Along the way, it has survived at least three major controversies and several minor ones.
Of course, the last 10 months have easily been the most trying. Soon after the feud between the two Ambani brothers became public in mid-November, the stock had taken a beating. It fell from Rs 545 on November 18 last year to Rs 480 in December 20, forcing the management to announce a buyback to prop up the stock. In the process, for about five sessions, RIL even lost its position as the second most valuable company in India to NTPC. (At present, NTPC is valued at nearly Rs 81,600 crore)
Since the split was announced on June 18, RIL shares jumped by Rs 175 to Rs 742 on the BSE with the benchmark index, touching an all-time high of 7756. RIL has a 13% weightage on the sensex. Reliance is still some distance away from bagging the numero uno status. The Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC), which was the first Indian company to breach this mark, way back in December 2003, still enjoys a market cap of nearly Rs 1.4 lakh crore.

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