India’s Reliance drops after slamming brakes on $15-bln Aramco deal

India’s Reliance drops after slamming brakes on $15-bln Aramco deal

BENGALURU - Shares of Reliance Industries fell 4.2% on Monday as India's largest firm halted a stake sale in its oil-to-chemicals business to Saudi Arabia's Aramco and pulled back from a potential spinoff of its most profitable unit. The move to monetize its oil business two years ago by selling a 20% stake for roughly $15 billion to the world's biggest oil exporter was part of its plan to cut the overall debt, which stood at 2,882.43 billion rupees ($41.8 billion). But over the last two years, while the due diligence was on, Reliance became net-debt free by selling stakes at its digital unit Jio Platforms to global companies, including Meta Platforms Inc and venture capital arms of chipmakers Intel Corp and Qualcomm. Meanwhile, as the global pandemic wreaked havoc on oil demand and prices, Reliance also sharpened its focus on renewable energy by committing $10.1 billion over three years to become a net carbon zero company by 2035. Analysts at Jefferies said the deal cancellation may not hurt the conglomerate's balance sheet, but is disappointing as it loses a chance to set a benchmark of $75 billion valuation for the oil business. "The market is reacting as it expected