MUMBAI: Billionaire Mukesh Ambani’s debt-fuelled bet on the rise of the Indian consumer is starting to pay off, with his retail and telecommunications businesses contributing an increasing share of revenue and profit to his US$87bil empire.
The two divisions accounted for a combined 23% of revenue for the year ended March, up from 17% in the previous year, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. That growth has come at the expense of the conglomerate’s energy-related arms, which have been the bedrock of Ambani’s business for more than a decade.