RIL becomes 1st Indian co to hit Rs 20 trn m-cap; stock up 29% in 3 months

Mukesh Ambani-led Reliance Industries Limited (RIL) on Tuesday became the first Indian listed company to hit the Rs 20 trillion ($250 billion) mark in market capitalisation (mcap) in intraday trade. 

RIL’s market cap touched a high of Rs 20.01 trillion as its stock hit a fresh intraday high of Rs 2,957.8 on the BSE, surpassing the previous high of Rs 2,949.9 achieved on February 2. The stock finally settled at Rs 2,928.95 with a gain of 0.9 per cent and the oil-to-telecom conglomerate was valued at Rs 19.81 trillion at the close of day’s trade.

In the past three months, the RIL stock has surged 29 per cent, outperforming the Sensex (which is up 10 per cent), amid renewed optimism around its growth prospects. 

The conglomerate reached the Rs 15 trillion mcap milestone in September 2020, after crossing the Rs 10 trillion in market value for the first time in November 2019, according to data provided by Capital Line. The company might have hit the Rs 20-trillion milestone earlier if it hadn't spun off its financial unit, Jio Financial Services, last year. However, this move has helped the Mumbai-based firm unlock value. Jio Fin, which listed separately in August 2023, is currently valued at Rs 1.73 trillion ($21 billion).

A few years ago, RIL and Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) were neck and neck in terms of market cap. Now, however, RIL has a considerable lead over the Tata group flagship, which only crossed Rs 15 trillion in mcap last week. At the group level, Tata is ahead with Rs 30 trillion in total mcap, compared to about Rs 22 trillion for the Reliance group. HDFC Bank, with a market cap of Rs 10.6 trillion, is the third-largest company. Thanks to its high free float market cap, the private sector lender has the highest weighting in the benchmark Sensex and the Nifty.