Mukesh Ambani keeps salary capped at Rs 15 cr in FY20; forgoes remuneration from current year

"In light of the COVID-19 outbreak in India, which has exacted a huge toll on the societal, economic and industrial health of the nation, Mukesh D. Ambani, the Chairman and Managing Director, has voluntarily decided to forego his salary," the company said in its latest annual report.

New Delhi: Richest Indian Mukesh Ambani kept his annual salary from his flagship firm Reliance Industries capped at Rs 15 crore for 12th year on the trot in the fiscal ended March 31 and has decided to forego the entire remuneration from the current year in view of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Ambani has kept salary, perquisites, allowances and commission together at Rs 15 crore since 2008-09, forgoing over Rs 24 crore per annum.

This is at a time when remunerations of all whole-time directors of the company, including cousins Nikhil and Hital Meswani, saw a handsome increase in the fiscal year ended March 31, 2019.

"In light of the COVID-19 outbreak in India, which has exacted a huge toll on the societal, economic and industrial health of the nation, Mukesh D. Ambani, the Chairman and Managing Director, has voluntarily decided to forego his salary," the company said in its latest annual report.

The Board of Directors noted his decision to forego salary until the impact of COVID-19 abates, it said.

Ambani decided to forego his remuneration at end-April when the company decided to cut the salary of most of its employees by 10-50 per cent.

"The Chairman and Managing Director had his salary capped at Rs 15 crore since 2008-09 in order to set a personal example of moderation in managerial compensation levels. And now, he is forgoing his salary until the company and all its businesses are fully back to their earnings potential," the company said in the annual report for 2019-20.

On a similar note, other executive directors have also expressed their decision to draw remuneration up to 50 per cent of their remuneration entitlement, it said.

Ambani's remuneration for 2019-20 included Rs 4.36 crore as salary and allowances, which is marginally lower than Rs 4.45 crore he got in the previous 2018-19 fiscal.

Commission has been unchanged at Rs 9.53 crore while perquisites have risen to Rs 40 lakh from Rs 31 lakh. Retirement benefits were Rs 71 lakh.

Ambani's cousins Nikhil R Meswani and Hital R Meswani saw their compensation rise to Rs 24 crore each from Rs 20.57 crore a year back. They earned Rs 19.99 crore each in 2017-18 and Rs 16.58 crore in 2016-17. In 2015-16, Nikhil had got Rs 14.42 crore while Hital took home Rs 14.41 crore. In 2014-15, they had got Rs 12.03 crore each.

Also, one of his key executives, Executive Director P M S Prasad saw his remuneration go up to Rs 11.15 crore from Rs 10.01 crore in the previous year. He too has seen his remuneration rise steadily -- from Rs 6.03 crore in 2014-15, to Rs 7.23 crore in the next fiscal, Rs 7.87 crore in 2016-17 and Rs 8.99 crore in the year thereafter.

RIL's non-executive directors, including Nita Ambani, got Rs 1.15 crore each as commission, besides sitting fees. The commission is lower than Rs 1.65 crore paid in the previous fiscal. The commission was Rs 1.5 crore in 2017-18 and Rs 1.3 crore in the year prior to that.

Working to complete contours of Saudi Aramco deal: Mukesh Ambani

Oil-to-telecom conglomerate Reliance Industries Ltd (RIL) said it is working to complete contours of a USD 15-billion deal with Saudi Aramco but did not give a timeline for its completion.

Mukesh Ambani in August last year announced talks for sale of 20 per cent stake in the oil-to-chemical (O2C) business, which comprises its twin oil refineries at Jamnagar in Gujarat and petrochemical assets, to the world's largest oil exporter. The deal was to be concluded by March 2020 but has been delayed.

"Reliance is working to complete the contours of a strategic partnership with Saudi Aramco," Ambani said in the firm's latest annual report without giving timelines.

The partnership with Aramco would give Jamnagar refineries "access to a wide portfolio of value-accretive crude grades and enhanced feedstock security for a higher oil-to-chemicals conversion," he said.

Reliance executed on the next phase of its growth journey in 2019-20, forging transformative partnerships across businesses.

"Reliance and Aramco share a common outlook and vision on the evolution of the business in the future with emphasis on higher oil-to-chemicals conversion," the firm said in the annual report.

Also, the firm said it has formed a 51:49 joint venture with BP plc of the UK for automobile and aviation fuel business in India.

With a stake, Aramco would not just have a stake in one of the world's best refineries and the largest integrated petrochemical complex but also access to one of the fastest-growing markets -- a ready-made market for 5 lakh barrels per day of its Arabian crude and offering a potentially bigger downstream role in future.

Besides refineries and petrochemical plants, the O2C business also comprises 51 per cent stake in the fuel retailing business. It, however, does not include the upstream oil- and gas-producing assets such as the flagging KG-D6 block in the Bay of Bengal.

RIL's refineries are one of the most complex in the world, allowing it to earn a significant premium to the benchmark Singapore gross refining margin. Its petrochemical complexes rank among the biggest in the world, whose dependency on outside raw materials is minimal. RIL has leadership positions both in the domestic polymer and polyester markets.

(PTI Report)