Isha Ambani appointed in Board of Directors of RIL’s Demerged Financial Services Unit

Mumbai, 9th July 2023: Billionaire Mukesh Ambani’s daughter Isha Ambani and former CAG Rajiv Mehrishi are among the directors appointed to the board of Reliance Industries’ demerged financial services unit, the firm announced on Saturday.

Reliance has earlier announced plans to spin off its financial services venture into Reliance Strategic Investments Limited (RSIL), rebrand it Jio Financial Services Limited (JFSL), and float it on the stock exchange.

Based on unique data analytics, it will lend to customers and merchants and will eventually expand into insurance, payments, digital broking, and asset management.

Each Reliance shareholder will receive one share of the new company for each share held in the parent. While the effective date of the demerger has been set as July 1, the record day for assigning shares of the new business has been set as July 20, according to the company’s stock exchange filing.

The spinoff will complement Reliance’s consumer businesses, which include India’s largest wireless operator with approximately 428 million users and a top retail chain with over 17,000 stores.

The firm in a stock exchange filing stated, “In accordance with provisions of the (demerger) Scheme, Reliance Strategic Investments Limited (RSIL) shall issue and allot one fully paid-up equity share of RSIL having face value of Rs 10 each for every one fully paid-up equity share of Rs 10 each of the company to the shareholders of the company whose names are recorded in the register of members and/or records of the depository as on the record date.”

At a meeting on July 7, the new company’s board of directors approved the appointment of new directors. Isha Mukesh Ambani, the billionaire’s oldest daughter, has been named as a non-executive director. Anshuman Thakur, a Reliance executive, has also been named as a non-executive director.

It was also announced that former bureaucrat Rajiv Mehrishi, who served as both home secretary and CAG, has been appointed as an independent director on RSIL for a five-year term.

Sunil Mehta, CEO of the Indian Banks’ Association, and Bimal Manu Tanna, a chartered accountant who previously worked for PwC, have both been named as independent directors.