The Hindu : Front Page : Anil Ambani asks directors of Reliance Energy to stay on

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Monday, Nov 29, 2004

Front Page

Front Page

Anil Ambani asks directors of Reliance Energy to stay on

By Our Staff Correspondent

Anil Ambani

MUMBAI. NOV. 28. Anil Ambani, chairman and managing director of Reliance Energy Ltd., today requested the six directors who had resigned on Thursday, to continue to serve the company. A meeting of the company's board of directors is being convened in the next few days on this issue.

The on-going differences between Anil Ambani and his elder brother, Mukesh Ambani over the ownership of the Rs. 90,000 crore Reliance empire, saw six of the 12 directors, including the vice-chairman, Satish Seth and nominees of Reliance Industries resigning from the board of Reliance Energy on Thursday last.

A Reliance Energy spokesman said: "The chairman and managing director, Anil Ambani has requested each of the six directors to serve the company as before. A Reliance Energy Board Meeting will be convened in the next few days on the issue of the resignation of the six directors and other related issues.''

Reliance Energy is owned approximately 50 per cent by Reliance Industries (directly and indirectly), 21 per cent by domestic institutional investors, 21 per cent by foreign institutional investors and 8 per cent by nearly 100,000 retail investors.

The six directors who resigned are: Satish Seth, executive vice-chairman, S. C. Gupta, J. P. Chalasani, K. H. Mankad, Prof. J. Ramachandran, an independent director and Amitabh Jhunjhunwala. On Wednesday last, Reliance Industries' Chairman, Mukesh Ambani persuaded M. L. Bhakta to reconsider his resignation from the Reliance Industries board. Mr. Bhakta, a founder member of the company, had announced his resignation on November 23.

In a message to employees today, Mr. Anil Ambani sought to reassure them. The message describes Reliance's foray into the power sector, the acquisition of the erstwhile BSES (now Reliance Energy) and the invaluable contribution and vision of the founder, Dhirubhai Ambani.

"I have always had the highest respect for you, the more than 25,000 professionals in the Reliance Energy team across various companies and I consider it a privilege to count each one of you amongst my colleagues. Like most of you, I too have no personal shareholding in Reliance Energy. I am here as a professional to serve the interests of all our stakeholders. For me, professionalism is a value system, a state of mind, and above all, a culture of respect for all,'' said Mr. Ambani.

Further, the message said: "Our greatest strength is our ability to work together as a team. In all our endeavours, we must always keep uppermost in our minds the best interest of our millions of customers and deliver the highest standards of quality, reliability, competitiveness and customer care to them. The opportunities and the challenges in the power sector are enormous. I am confident that together, we — each one of us — will work with commitment, dedication and devotion, to realise the vision of our beloved founder, Dhirubhai Ambani.''

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