RBI approves appointment of Isha Ambani, 2 others as Jio Financial directors

Reliance Industries subsidiary Jio Financial Services Ltd today said the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has approved the appointment of three of its directors, including Isha Ambani. "The RBI vide letter dated November 15, 2023, has accorded its approval for the appointment of Ms. Isha Mukesh Ambani, Shri Anshuman Thakur and Shri Hitesh Kumar Sethia as Directors of the Company," Jio Financial Services says in a statement.

The RBI has advised the company to update the company profile after the change in management. "This approval is valid only for six months from the date of this letter. In case the company fails to give effect to the proposal within this time frame, it will have to apply again with reasons for having failed to effect the change on the earlier occasion," the RBI letter says.

Shareholders of JFS parent Reliance Industries Ltd in October 2023 had also approved the appointment of Isha Ambani, and her brothers Akash Ambani and Anant Ambani as the non-executive directors. Isha, Akash and Anant have been closely involved and are leading and managing key businesses of RIL over the last few years including retail, digital services and energy and materials businesses. They also serve on the boards of the key subsidiaries of RIL.

Isha Ambani is also driving the expansion of Reliance Retail into new categories, geographies and formats and is focused on enhancing the overall customer experience. Reliance Retail has a presence in food, consumer electronics and fashion retail and is India's largest retailer by reach, scale, revenue and profitability.

The Non-Banking Financial Company (NBFC), which is the demerged entity of Reliance Industries (RIL), posted a profit of ₹668.18 crore in the September quarter of the current fiscal (Q2 FY24), up 101.3% from ₹331.92 crore in the June quarter of FY24. Total revenue from operations of the Mukesh Ambani-back firm jumped 48% on a sequential basis to ₹608 crore, aided by dividend income of ₹217 crore. Its total expenses increased sequentially by 32.7% to ₹71.43 crore as against ₹53.81 crore in the previous quarter.

The promoter and promoter group owns 46.77% stake in the company, while 53.23% is owned by the public. The company is the third largest NBFC after Bajaj Finance and its holding company Bajaj Finserv in terms of market capitalisation.

Jio Financial stock ended 1.23% higher at ₹227 per share today, while the market capitalisation rose to ₹1.44 lakh crore. Early today, the stock opened marginally higher at ₹225.10 on the BSE against the previous closing price of ₹224.25. During the session, the NBFC major surged to an intraday high of ₹229. The counter hit an all-time high of ₹278.20 on August 21, 2023, while it touched its record low of ₹204.65 on October 23, 2023.

JFS, a part of billionaire Mukesh Ambani-led conglomerate, was demerged from the parent on July 20, 2023. The RIL’s board appointed Hitesh Kumar Sethi as managing director and chief executive officer of the company, as well as Isha Mukesh Ambani and Reliance executive Anshuman Thakur as non-executive directors.