Mukesh Ambani, chairman of India’s Reliance Industries and Asia’s richest person with a net worth of $111 billion, is reportedly losing sleep lately.

He never imagined that, simply because a Chinese company refused to cooperate with him, Reliance Industries—a corporate behemoth—would suffer a catastrophic setback in lithium-battery manufacturing, forcing the entire project to be scrapped. It’s late January in Gujarat’s Jamnagar, where the sun still blazes fiercely. If you were standing today on the construction site of Reliance’s so-called “1,000-acre super-factory,” you’d hear an eerie silence. This site should now be echoing with the roar of machinery and the hum of coating-machine calibration—after all, only two months remain until Mukesh Ambani’s pledged “March 2026 commencement of production.” Yet there is no sound of high-precision chemical equipment operating—only a few engineers, screwdrivers in hand, dismantling shipping containers stamped with Chinese characters. The irony is striking: Asia’s richest man, worth $111 billion, poured $10 billion into building India’s first domestically produced lithium battery—yet, just before the final deadline, he was forced to downgrade from “cell manufacturer” to mere “battery importer.” Just five months ago, Ambani’s plans still seemed flawless. At that time, Reliance’s negotiation team sat in the conference room of Xiamen Hithium Energy Storage in Xiamen. This had been a protracted, over-one-year tug-of-war. India’s demands were blunt: “We want to buy the formula.” Not merely batteries—but the full suite of proprietary know-how: lithium iron phosphate (LFP) cell formulations, high-nickel cathode material synthesis techniques, and even the secrets of solid-state electrolytes—acquired via “technology equity investment” or “profit-sharing” arrangements. Ambani’s bargaining chip was India’s 1.3-billion-strong market and multi-year capacity roadmap. He knew this “market-for-technology” playbook inside out—having used it successfully in telecom, where Jio upended India’s entire communications landscape. He assumed history would repeat itself. But in October 2025—just three months ago—this seemingly robust “technology umbilical cord” was abruptly severed. It wasn’t about price disagreements. Rather, an invisible door had slammed shut. The Chinese Ministry of Commerce’s August 2025 update to its “Catalogue of Export Controls on Critical Technologies” began taking effect—and core lithium-battery manufacturing technologies were now explicitly redlined. For industry leaders like Hithium, this was no longer a matter of commercial interest, but one of regulatory compliance. When the call announcing “negotiations terminated” reached Mumbai, Reliance executives may not yet have grasped the severity. Instinctively, they assumed money could buy alternatives anywhere on Earth. So, during those two months at year-end, Reliance’s team frantically jetted off to Tokyo, Seoul, and Europe. But the quotations they brought back left Ambani gasping for air. This was a calculation that simply did not add up.

What exactly is Reliance Industries—the Indian business conglomerate whose wealth rivals that of entire nations? | South Asia Research Newsletter

In 1957, Dhirubhai Ambani returned to India from Yemen and began trading yarn in Mumbai, dreaming of building India’s largest company—marking the founding entrepreneur’s operational starting point in India. His dream was later realized by his son, Mukesh Ambani. Today, Reliance Industries operates across energy production, finance, biotechnology, and more—and holds extraordinary significance for India’s economic development. According to 2020 data, the group’s annual revenue accounted for 3% of India’s GDP. Reliance typically holds its annual general meeting in June or, at the latest, July; however, this summer’s AGM schedule was not announced until August 8. Consequently, rumors about Mukesh Ambani’s deteriorating health and speculation over his successor have surged across Indian public discourse. Where is Reliance headed? The South Asia Research Group has compiled and translated this article for readers’ critical reference. In India, the only event comparable to Berkshire Hathaway’s shareholder meeting is Reliance Industries’ Annual General Meeting—dubbed the “Woodstock for capitalists” of South Asia. Like Warren Buffett’s famed gathering, it draws a passionate crowd of investors (though their insights into business and finance may not match Buffett’s depth). The company’s founder, Dhirubhai Ambani—a self-made Gujarati entrepreneur—was also a shrewd opportunist. Starting from an unassuming trading and textile firm, he grew it into India’s largest corporation, ultimately transforming it into a sprawling conglomerate. After his passing, the group continued expanding under his son Mukesh Ambani’s leadership, now spanning petrochemicals, refining, telecommunications, shopping apps, and retail stores. Source: Internet I cannot capture in a few words the sheer scale of this entity’s importance to India. With a market capitalization of $206 billion, Reliance Industries generates annual revenue equal to 3% of India’s GDP. Among India’s top 500 listed companies, it contributes 6% of total sales and profits, 7% of overall capital, and a staggering 18% of total capital investment. Jio—the group’s telecom subsidiary—serves 410 million Indians. Jio has become the darling of recent massive, stomach-churning capital bets—and has indeed delivered returns. So far, Jio’s retail operations rank first nationwide, with 15,000 stores opened. Reliance’s refining and petrochemical complex in western India is the world’s largest. In short, any shift at Reliance reverberates across all of India—and such a shift appears imminent. Because Reliance’s AGM—traditionally held in Mumbai each June or July—has yet to announce its schedule, rumors continue to swirl. Mukesh Ambani has largely vanished from public view. The company states he will remain for a period in Jamnagar, home to its massive refinery.

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