Reliance Industries achieved a market capitalization of £200 billion, becoming the first Indian company to do so, with its stock price rising by nearly 30% in three months. Founded in 1966 as a textile manufacturer by Dhirubhai Ambani, RIL pioneered India's equity culture with its IPO in 1977. It has since evolved into a conglomerate with interests in petrochemicals, oil & gas, retail, telecom, and financial services, creating wealth for shareholders.
RIL crossed the £10 billion market cap mark on August 2, 2005, coinciding with BSE's market cap surpassing £200 billion for the first time. Today, RIL's market value equals the collective worth of all Indian companies 19 years ago. Despite its rapid growth and diversification, RIL's share in India's market cap has remained steady at 5% since 2005.
RIL, which has been the most valued company in India for over a decade, is now ranked (44th) among the world’s top 50 companies in terms of market cap. RIL was also the first Indian company to reach the £100 billion market cap mark on Nov 28, 2019. While it took 14 years to go from a market cap of £10 billion to 100 billion, the 100 billion to 200 billion journey needed just over four years.
In India, RIL leads as the country's most valued company, surpassing TCS by £50 billion. Globally, RIL's market cap of $239 billion trails behind Aramco ($2 trillion), Exxon Mobil ($410 billion), and Chevron ($287 billion), but exceeds Shell ($205 billion) and PetroChina ($202 billion), according to Bloomberg data.