Saudi Aramco chairman Yasir Othman Al-Rumayyan to be on Reliance board

• Shubham
• 25 June, 2021

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By: Shubham Ghosh

YASIR Othman Al-Rumayyan, chairman of Saudi Aramco and head of the Kingdom’s cash-rich wealth fund Public Investment Fund, is set to join the board of Reliance Industries Limited (RIL) as an independent director in a precursor to a $15 billion deal.

Reliance chairman and Asia’s richest man Mukesh Ambani, who had disclosed two years ago the talks to sell a 20 per cent stake in the company’s oil-to-chemical unit to Saudi Aramco, announced the appointment of Al-Rummayyan at the company’s annual meeting of the shareholders.

The 51-year-old Al-Rumayyan will replace Yogendra P Trivedi, 92, who recently expressed a desire to step down, Ambani said. He added that the deal on selling of 20 per cent stake in the O2C business is likely to be concluded this year. “Despite several challenges due to Covid-19, we have made substantial progress in the past in our discussions (with Saudi Aramco). This continued engagement and resolve from both sides, even during this pandemic, is a testimony of strong relationship between Saudi Aramco and Reliance,” he said.

The Reliance chairman also said that RIL is looking forward to welcoming Saudi Aramco as a strategic partner in its O2C business. In 2019, Ambani had announced a $75 billion valuation of the O2C venture, which houses the group’s oil refineries and petrochemical units besides fuel retailing. A 20 per cent stake of Aramco was valued at $15 billion though on Thursday (24), he did not put any value.

“I am delighted to welcome Yasir Al-Rumayyan, Chairman of Saudi Aramco and the Governor of the Public Investment Fund, to join the board of Reliance Industries Ltd as an independent director,” Ambani said. Under the Harvard-educated Al-Rumayyan, who also sits on the board of SoftBank Group Corp and Uber Technologies, PIF has invested billions of dollars in RIL ventures. In June 2020, PIF also bought a 2.32 per cent stake in RIL’s digital unit Jio Platforms for Rs 11,367 crore ($1,533 million). Later in the year, it also picked up a 2.04 per cent stake in RIL’s retail venture for Rs 9,555 crore ($1,289 million). Besides, it has also invested Rs 3,799 crore in an infrastructure investment trust, Digital Fibre Infrastructure Trust that holds RIL’s fibre-optic assets ($509 million).