Asia’s richest man, Mukesh Ambani slipped three positions in the Forbes Real-Time Billionaires list after Reliance Industries Limited (RIL) suffered heavy losses worth $7 billion in the stock market.
Shares of the refining-to-retail conglomerate, India’s most-valuable company closed 8.6% lower in Mumbai on Monday, slipping the most since March 23. It was the day’s worst performer on the benchmark S&P BSE Sensex, which rose 0.4 percent. The slide also shaved down Mr. Ambani’s wealth to about $71 billion, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index.
Following this, Mukesh Ambani’s net worth on the Forbes Real-Time Billionaires list dropped to the ninth position on the list with a net worth of $71.3 billion.
Market experts predict a short-term correction in the RIL stock, mostly due to the impact of the pandemic on sales. However, most brokerage firms remain optimistic about RIL’s long-term growth as the company expands its footprint in the country’s lucrative retail space.
It may, however, be mentioned that even after the sharp drop in share price, RIL stock is up over 100 percent in comparison to the levels seen in March.
At present, Mukesh Ambani is focused on transforming his business to focus on two of the most lucrative markets in India — technology-driven digital services and retail.
RIL has successfully bolstered its digital services wing, Jio Platform, after attracting investments from global technology giants and private equity firms. It is now on a similar mission to strengthen its retail footprint in India and take on the likes of Amazon and Flipkart.
Considering Reliance’s future growth plans, market experts and brokerages are not too concerned about RIL’s stock market slump on Monday.
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