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Dhirubhai,
the Dream Merchant
Even
as the life of titan Dhirubahi Ambani came to a halt on July 6,
his $ 12.5 billion worth empire which he built literally from scratch
is expected to continue without much stumbling. The icon will be
remembered forever for what he achieved in a very short span of
time. He was in true sense a self-made man who could vividly visualise
the situation much deeper in the future. It is his astute sense
for noticing opportunities that helped this village boy from Chorwad
to establish a Fortune 500 company even amidst adversities at a
time when markets were regulated and policies were not exactly business
friendly. From a Rs 20-30 lakh turnover firm in 1970, he took Reliance
to a Rs 65,000 crore group with diverse interest in areas like textiles,
petroleum, petrochemicals, telecom and IT. In 2000, the group commissioned
the world’s largest grassroot refinery with a total capacity
of 45 million tonnes and in 2001, RIL and RPL became the India’s
two largest companies in terms of all financial parameters.
All
said and done, the Wharton Dean Medal recipient will however be
best remembered for transforming the Indian capital market. He is
credited with introducing an equity cult in the country with first
IPO of RIL in 1977. From nothing, he generated $ 15 billion for
millions of investors who reposed their faith in the group by parking
their hard earned savings on this man and his dream. The rich and
steady dividends paid by the group through the years has rewarded
their faith. The group has always believed in enhancing shareholder
value and this created a large chunk of followers from the investing
community. Reliance also was the first Indian company to tap the
global capital market with a global depository receipt of $ 150
million in May 1992.
Currently,
the group has the largest market capitalisation of around Rs 72,000
crore, accounting for one eighth of the total market cap of all
listed companies in India. Over the years, the group has enriched
its investors through a series of bonus, rights issues and debentures.
These have been apart from dividends paid time to time. It is the
only company which believed in consolidation of business through
acquisition of capacities at various geographical locations, the
most recent one being IPCL, the PSU. These acquisitions and mergers
have helped it emerge as one of the largest polyester manufacturers
in the world.
Without
him at the helm, Dhirubhai’s two sons, Anil and Mukesh will
now have to fulfil the rest of his vision. Though this may not appear
difficult as they have been part of the business since their father’s
first stroke in 1986, it will still need them to work in tandem
with clear responsibilities marked out. Like their father, they
will need to Think Big.
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