Mukesh Ambani's Daughter Isha, Former CAG Rajiv Mehrishi Join Board Of RIL's Financial Services Unit

Billionaire Mukesh Ambnai's daughter Isha and former CAG Rajiv Mehrishi are among the directors appointed on the board of demerged financial services unit of Reliance Industries, the company said.

Reliance Industries Ltd on Friday announced the appointment of Isha Ambani, daughter of Mukesh Ambani, and Rajiv Mehrishi, former CAG, as directors on the board of the demerged financial services unit. The company also fixed July 20 as the record date for the purpose of determining the equity shareholders who are entitled to receive shares of Reliance Strategic Investments.

Reliance Industries Ltd had earlier announced its intention to demerge its financial services division and establish it as a distinct entity named Reliance Strategic Investments Limited (RSIL). Following the demerger, the company plans to rename and list the newly formed entity as Jio Financial Services Limited (JFSL).

Jio Financial Services Limited (JFSL) aims to provide lending services to consumers and merchants using proprietary data analytics. JFSL also plans to expand its offerings to include insurance, payments, digital broking, and asset management.

As part of the demerger, each Reliance shareholder will receive one share of the new company for every share they hold in the parent company. According to the company's stock exchange filing, while the effective date of the demerger has been fixed as July 1, July 20 has been fixed as the record day for allocating shares of the new company. 

"In accordance with provisions of the (demerger) Scheme, Reliance Strategic Investments Limited (RSIL) shall issue and allot one fully paid-up equity share of RSIL having face value of Rs 10 each for every one fully paid-up equity share of Rs 10 each of the company to the shareholders of the company whose names are recorded in the register of members and/or records of the depository as on the record date," the firm said in a stock exchange filing.

As per a PTI report, the demerged company will be the fifth-largest financial services provider in terms of capital. This move positions it to directly compete with industry leaders such as Paytm and Bajaj Finance. The spinoff will complement Reliance's existing consumer businesses, which include India's largest wireless operator serving approximately 428 million users and a prominent retail chain boasting over 17,000 stores, the report said. 

New Appointments At Reliance Strategic Investments

As per the RIL's exchange filing, during the board meeting held on July 7, the newly formed company approved the appointment of directors. Isha Mukesh Ambani, the elder daughter of the RIL Chief Mukesh Ambani, has been appointed as a non-executive director.

Additionally, Anshuman Thakur, an executive at Reliance, has also been appointed as a non-executive director. The board has appointed former bureaucrat Rajiv Mehrishi, who previously served as home secretary and CAG, as an independent director for a term of five years.

Sunil Mehta, the chief executive of the Indian Banks' Association, and Bimal Manu Tanna, a chartered accountant with prior experience at PwC, have also been appointed as independent directors.

"Appointment of directors is subject to the approval of members of RSIL and the Reserve Bank of India and will be effective from the date of receipt of approval of the Reserve Bank of India," the filing said.

Banker Hitesh Kumar Sethia has been appointed managing director and chief executive officer of RSIL for a period of three years.

"Hitesh Sethia is a financial services executive with over two decades of experience across Europe, Asia (India & Greater China) and North America. He has spent most of his career at ICICI Bank gaining functional experience and handling leadership roles across various departments such as credit, retail banking, corporate banking and transaction banking coupled with understanding of technology applications in financial services," the filing said giving a brief profile of the new CEO.

As per the filing, Hitesh Kumar Sethia has played a crucial role in establishing and expanding operations for ICICI Bank. He was a key member of the set-up team for ICICI Bank Canada and served as the first employee of ICICI Bank in Germany. Sethia also held senior positions, including country head roles, for ICICI Bank in the UK and Hong Kong. In his most recent role as Head of Transaction Banking based in Mumbai, he oversaw important operations.