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Qatar to invest $1bn for 1% stake in Reliance Retail

By Reuters
A Reliance Smart Bazaar retail store in Mumbai. The company has nearly doubled its valuation to $100 billion from its last funding round in 2020 Reuters/Francis Mascarenhas
A Reliance Smart Bazaar retail store in Mumbai. The company has nearly doubled its valuation to $100 billion from its last funding round in 2020

Qatar Investment Authority will invest $1 billion for a 1 percent stake in India’s Reliance Retail Ventures, nearly doubling its valuation to $100 billion from its last funding round in 2020.

Reliance Retail is India’s largest retailer and the retail arm of billionaire Mukesh Ambani’s Reliance Industries.

It has been partnering with a slew of global brands including Burberry, Pret A Manger and Tiffany to launch and expand their presence in India.

It last raised about INR472.65 billion ($5.72 billion) from more than half a dozen investors, including KKR and General Atlantic, Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund and the UAE’s Mubadala in 2020.

Led by billionaire Mukesh Ambani’s daughter Isha Ambani, Reliance Retail Ventures houses retail operations including international partnerships and consumer goods business.

Its core retail businesses include e-commerce operations and hundreds of outlets that sell electronics, clothing and food products.

Reliance Retail was recently valued at $92 billion to $96 billion by two global consultants, a move seen as signalling an eventual initial public offering of the company.

Ambani has said he plans to list his retail operations at some point, but has so far not given a timeline or details of his plans.

The investment is also part of a broader shift in QIA’s investment strategy, which is moving towards sectors like technology, healthcare and public and private markets and away from holding trophy assets such as the Shard skyscraper and the Harrods department store in London.

To date, the $445 billion Qatari sovereign wealth fund’s direct investments in India have largely focused on venture capital, particularly in online retail.

These have included food delivery startups Swiggy and Rebel Foods as well as e-commerce platform Flipkart, according to sovereign wealth fund tracker, Global SWF.