Ambani Sold a Tech Dream for $27 Billion. Now He Has to Deliver - Bloomberg

Ambani Sold a Tech Dream for $27 Billion. Now He Has to Deliver - Bloomberg

Mukesh Ambani spent much of 2020 convincing Facebook Inc., Google and a clutch of Wall Street heavyweights to buy into his vision for one of the world’s most ambitious corporate transformations.

Now flush with $27 billion in fresh capital, Asia’s richest man is under pressure to deliver.

The 63-year-old Indian tycoon is focused on a handful of priorities as he tries to turn Reliance Industries Ltd. from an old-economy conglomerate into a technology and e-commerce titan, according to recent public statements and people familiar with the company’s plans.

These include developing products for the anticipated roll-out next year of a local 5G network; incorporating Facebook’s WhatsApp payments service into Reliance’s digital platform; and integrating the company’s e-commerce offerings with a network of physical mom-and-pop shops across the country. Ambani is also pushing forward with plans to sell a stake in Reliance’s oil and petrochemical units, a deal he had originally hoped would reduce debt and finance his high-tech pivot earlier this year.