Wonders will never cease. In the case of Reliance, it has dazzled people by attracting foreign investments from the likes of Facebook and Google. It is cash-rich, which shows in its recent announcement of plans to invest $ 50 million in Bill Gates Breakthrough Energy Ventures. Talk of reverse foreign investments! Ambani does it.
However, there is a catch. Reliance said it plans to invest this amount in tranches spread out over the next 8 to 10 years. Is this a ploy to jack up Reliance’s share prices at home and attract even more funds into its kitty? Who knows?
Breakthrough Energy Ventures is a Bill Gates Venture. Concerned about rising greenhouse gas emissions to the tune of 51 billion tons each year and global warming that leads to an increase in natural disasters, Bill Gates floated this venture that aims to stop adding greenhouse gases by 2050 by exploring cleaner forms of energy. The company is highly optimistic about transforming all activities and sectors of the economy to bring down GHG to zero. Their avowed goal is to bring together investors who will transform lab discoveries into scalable energy solutions. Guess who is Chairman and Managing Director of this company registered as an LLC in Delaware? It is Mukesh Ambani. The other Board members are Jeff Bezos of Amazon fame, HRH Prince Alwaleed bin Talal of Alwaleed Philanthropies, John Arnold, Michael Bloomberg, Richard Branson of Virgin Group, Bill Gates, Ray Dalio, John Doerr, Jack Ma of Alibaba, and Masayoshi Son of SoftBank, among others.
Breakthrough welcomed the announcement, stating that the commitment amounts to around 5.75% of the size of the contemplated fund of the company. Breakthrough claims that it will invest funds to support innovation, leading to clean energy solutions and benefiting India. It has already announced funding of $ 18 million for an energy IoT startup.
Of course, the Reserve Bank of India must approve the transaction, but given Ambani’s standing, that does not appear to be a roadblock.
