Mukesh Ambani Loses $7 Billion As Oil Sinks Reliance Shares

Mukesh Ambani, Asia’s richest man, lost almost $7 billion from his net worth as Reliance Industries Ltd.’s shares tumbled the most in over seven months following a drop in quarterly profit.

The stock of India’s most-valuable company closed 8.6% lower in Mumbai on Monday, slipping the most since March 23. It was the day’s worst performer on the benchmark S&P BSE Sensex, which rose 0.4 per cent. The slide also shaved down Mr Ambani’s wealth to about $71 billion, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index.

The refining-to-retail conglomerate reported a 15 per cent decline in quarterly profit to ₹ 9,570 crore ($1.3 billion) late on Friday, as the coronavirus pandemic hit fuel demand. Revenue fell 24 per cent to ₹ 1.16 lakh crore.

Reliance’s oil refining unit has suffered a plunge in demand for transportation fuels, with Covid-19 forcing people to stay home. The conglomerate is in the midst of a transformation led by Mr Ambani, 63, as he looks to turn the oil-and-petrochemicals giant into a technology and digital services company by bolstering its telecom and e-commerce businesses.