Mukesh Ambani led Reliance Industries Limited, one of the largest private conglomerates in India, is adding finishing touches to its petrochemicals and telecom projects. The Mukesh Ambani-led company is planning to commission Paraxylene (PX) from September, alongside their ethylene off-gas and petcoke gasifier projects by the end of 2016. Additionally, the commercial launch of Reliance Jio is expected to take place in the months of September or October.
Petrochemicals project
Reliance’s chain of polyester capacities are ready while its downstream expansion valued at $ 18.5 billion is expected to be commissioned in phases by the end of the year. The petcoke gasifier project is expected to enhance its refining margins on every barrel worth $ 2-2.5, according to industry analysts.
Reliance Jio
Reliance Jio is the only telecom service provider in India to have acquired a pan-India Unified License which grants it access to the largest pool of LTE-enabled liberalized spectrum.
A company source elaborated on Jio’s plan of extending its soft launch reach in terms of smart phones outside the Reliance LYF brand. With regard to the same, apart from LYF cellular devices, the limited preview will now also be offered on purchase of select Samsung smart phones.
Subscriber base
Mukesh Ambani led Reliance Industries Limited (RIL) has invested almost $ 20 billion into Reliance Jio which presently has a customer base of 1.5 million users. The average user activity increased from 18 GB to 26 GB of data and from 250 minutes to 355 minutes of voice calling over the last quarter.
Currently operational in 18,000 towns and cities as well as in over 200,000 villages, Jio plans to extend its base in the telecom circles of Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Karnataka, and Rajasthan over the next two months. The company also plans to launch its portable Wi-Fi hotspot devices named MiFi soon.
Jio’s strategy
The current 1.5 million-strong user base of Jio includes the company’s major stakeholders, employees, LYF buyers, and retailers. They have access to free Jio voice, data, and content services for three months as part of the soft launch preview.
Smart phone devices
Reliance Jio’s partnership with Samsung smart phones resulted in a rise in the latter’s sales by 15-20%. This deal is expected to be followed by a similar one with Apple iPhones.
A company source explained how several 4G-compatible smart phones equipped with LTE technology were being tested in terms of their dual-SIM capabilities and network support. This move is expected to widen Jio’s consumer base and attract new customers prior to its launch later this year.
Summary
Reliance Industries Limited (RIL) is gearing up for the launch of its petrochemicals and telecom projects. Both of these are expected to be operational by the end of the year.