At Reliance's investor meeting, Mukesh Ambani's succession plan and spinoffs will be discussed.

The annual shareholder meeting takes place as the refining-to-retail sector struggles to overcome both the global economic downturn and Gautam Adani's meteoric ascension to become Asia's richest man earlier this year.
 

Like Warren Buffett's yearly letters to Berkshire Hathaway shareholders, Mukesh Ambani's once-a-year speech to investors has grown over time into a much-anticipated declaration on his $222 billion enterprise.

Investors in Reliance Industries Ltd. will be watching on Monday for information about the company's 5G deployment, how he intends to divide his retail and telecom businesses to maximise value, and when and how his children will take over the reins.

The 65-year-old billionaire, who transformed Reliance into India's largest firm by market value and a formidable conglomerate, has used the address for a number of significant announcements, so anticipation is high. These include the introduction of his innovative cellular service in 2016, the planned investment in Reliance's energy sector by Saudi Arabian Oil Co. in 2019, and a strategic switch to green energy last year.

A global economic downturn and Gautam Adani's meteoric rise, who earlier this year surpassed Mukesh Ambani as Asia's richest man and is now establishing himself as a rival power centre on the corporate landscape, present the refining-to-retail group with two formidable obstacles as they prepare for their annual shareholder meeting.

Investors in Reliance will expect "clarity and specific time lines for the next big things" from Ambani's more centralised holdings, according to Kranthi Bathini, equity strategist at WealthMills Securities Pvt Ltd. in Mumbai. Investors will remember how Adani's conglomerate split its business into different listings years ago, unlocking value. Adani's wealth has increased by $58 billion this year as a result of the stock market bounce, while Ambani's has increased by $3.3 billion.

Investors anticipate the following news:

Succession

At the shareholder meeting the year before and again in December, the patriarch made it clear that succession planning for the top position at Reliance would be accelerated. Isha, his daughter, and Akash and Anant, his sons, already hold a variety of directorships in the group's unlisted enterprises and are increasingly taking on leadership roles.

Ambani looks to the Walton Family's Succession Plan

In June, Ambani resigned as chairman of Reliance Jio Infocomm Ltd. to make room for his eldest son, Akash, who assumed control of India's largest telecom provider. Investors will be watching for more specific actions to be made in the leadership transition, with Isha, Anant, and possibly his wife, Nita, taking on more responsibilities, as health worries about Ambani continue to circulate.

Release of 5G Reliance At a local spectrum auction, Jio Infocomm spent over $11 billion on airwaves in an effort to gain an advantage over its smaller rivals, Bharti Airtel Ltd. and Vodafone Idea Ltd., in the deployment of faster 5G networks. That will be essential for increasing sales and attracting high-value users.