Time-Travel through Reliance Industries' share price growth: From Rs 56 to Rs 2,346 in 20 years (2024)

Shares of Mukesh Ambani led-Reliance Industries (RIL) were trading volatile in Friday's trade ahead of the oil-to-telecom major's March quarter results, where the Mukesh Ambani-led company is expected to log a flattish profit.

Reliance Industries share price has jumped around 3% in the last month. However, the stock is down 9% in year-to-date time. In the last five years, Reliance shares have doubled investors' money, logging over 135% gain during this period.

Reliance Commercial Corporation was set up in 1958 by Dhirubhai Ambani as a small venture firm trading commodities, especially spices and polyester yarn. It opened its first textile mill in Gujarat and was incorporated in 1966 as Reliance Textiles and Engineers, Ltd.

Till 1968, Reliance's business focused on the textile industry even as it continued to expand. Reliance took advantage of “Indianization” of the stock market and floated an initial public offering (IPO) in 1977.

In a five-year period on either side of India’s 1991 liberalisation push, Dhirubhai Ambani launched four big public issues. Each received a good response but didn’t deliver exceptional returns. Each of these companies was soon merged into RIL.

The IPO, which issued 2.8 million shares of Rs 10 each, was credited with engaging small investors in the stock market and equity shareholding. The issue was oversubscribed seven times, and the company's shareholder base grew into lakhs.

After the IPO, the share price of Reliance kept climbing.“In the first year of listing, 1978, Reliance had reached a high of Rs 50, five times the par value of the share, which was a high premium in those times. In 1980, it hit Rs 104 and in 1982 it reached Rs 186.

Reliance Industries' share price has seen an incredible rise of 4,000% in the last 20 years, as the stock price has risen from Rs 56 in April 2003 to Rs 2,346 on NSE as of April 20 closing.

Under Dhirubhai Ambani's leadership, Reliance Industries became the first Indian privately-owned company to be rated by international credit rating agencies such as S&P, Moody’s etc.

Reliance expanded rapidly into sectors adjacent to its textile business, and in 1985 it became known as Reliance Industries Limited (RIL). In 1991, Reliance opened a massive industrial complex in Hazira, Gujarat.

Following Dhirubhai’s death in 2002, his sons assumed joint leadership of the Reliance companies. However, Reliance’s assets were later split between the brothers, whereby Mukesh Ambani assumed control of RIL and its more traditional units while Anil gained control of the telecom, power generation, and financial services units.