No salaries for RIL chief Mukesh Ambani’s children, will earn from board meetings alone

Mukesh Ambani’s three children, twins Akash and Isha (both 31) and Anant (28), would receive only a sitting fee and a commission on the firm’s profit. This was announced by RIL in a resolution seeking shareholder approval for the appointment of Ambani’s children to the board

Isha directly holds 0.12 per cent equity shares of the company.

Mukesh Ambani’s children, Akash, Anant, and Isha, will not be paid a salary as board members of Reliance Industries Ltd (RIL). They will only receive a fee for attending board and committee meetings. All three of them are directors of RIL.

According to a PTI report, while Ambani, 66, has received no compensation from the firm since the fiscal year 2020-21, other executive directors, including his cousins Nikhil and Hital, are paid a salary, perquisites, allowances, and commission.

His three children, twins Akash and Isha (both 31) and Anant (28), would receive only a sitting fee and a commission on the firm’s profit. This was announced by RIL in a resolution seeking shareholder approval for the appointment of Ambani’s children to the board.

The terms of the appointment of RIL chairman Mukesh Ambani’s children, Akash, Anant, and Isha, to the board of Reliance Industries Limited (RIL) are the same as the ones on which his wife Nita was appointed to the board in 2014.

This means that the children will not receive a salary, but will only be paid a sitting fee for board and committee meeting. They will also not be eligible for any other remuneration or benefits from RIL, such as stock options, bonuses, or commissions.

Nita Ambani earned a sitting fee of Rs 6 lakh and a commission of Rs 2 crore in the 2022-23 fiscal year (April 2022 to March 2023), according to the company’s latest annual report.

Ambani, 66, announced last month at the company’s annual shareholders meeting that his three children, Akash, Isha, and Anant, will be appointed into Reliance’s board of directors (BoD).

He also indicated that he will remain the company’s chairman and CEO for another five years, with an emphasis on developing and empowering its ‘next-gen’ executives.

Reliance has already mailed a postal ballot to shareholders seeking approval for their appointment to the company’s board of directors.

“They shall be paid remuneration by way of fee for attending meetings of the Board or Committees thereof or for any other meetings as may be decided by the Board, reimbursement of expenses for participating in the Board and other meetings and profit-related commission,” the notice said.

Reliance has five primary verticals: the oil-to-chemical (O2C) industry, which houses the world’s largest single-location refining complex and petrochemical plants, telecom and digital business, retail (both physical and online), new energy, and recently announced financial services.

Ambani first mentioned a succession plan for the oil-to-telecom conglomerate in 2022, when he declared that each of his three children will oversee different parts of the company (Akash would oversee telecom, Isha would oversee retail, and Anant would oversee new energy).

He did not reveal Reliance’s mainstay oil-to-chemicals or O2C business division’s succession strategy.

Reliance shareholders approved Ambani’s reappointment as CEO of India’s most valuable firm at the company’s annual general meeting (AGM) last month. And, as in the previous three years, he has chosen not to be paid during this time.

Nita resigned as a Reliance director as part of the succession planning, but she has been made a permanent invitee to all board meetings – a status that none of the board members have – Mukesh Ambani and other directors need shareholders’ approval for any extension beyond their current approved terms, but she will remain on the board in perpetuity.

Source: https://www.businesstoday.in/latest/corporate/story/no-salaries-for-mukesh-ambanis-children-will-earn-from-board-meetings-alone-399810-2023-09-26

Adani-Hindenburg issue: ‘Regulatory tools can lead to better corporate governance,’ says FM Sitharaman

Amidst complexities, Sitharaman highlighted the role of the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) in discerning genuine concerns from manipulative actions

Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman

Recent developments in the financial landscape, including the Hindenburg report on the Adani Group and the impending release of another report, have spurred discussions about activist short-selling and its impact. Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman delved into the intricacies of this phenomenon in an interview with The Economic Times, shedding light on its dynamics and the potential regulatory responses.

Sitharaman characterised activist short selling as a practice where individuals or entities strategically take positions to manipulate the valuation of a target company. This process often involves lowering the valuation and subsequently driving it up, leading to significant profits for those involved. She noted that these short sellers meticulously analyse corporate entities to assess the feasibility of their strategies, thus assuming calculated risks to achieve substantial gains.

The Finance Minister acknowledged that there are varying approaches to this practice. While some aim to exploit market dynamics for profit, others opt for similar strategies to capitalize on market fluctuations. Amidst these complexities, Sitharaman highlighted the role of the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) in discerning genuine concerns from manipulative actions. She expressed optimism that effective use of regulatory tools could contribute to enhanced corporate governance, benefiting India’s economic landscape.

Sitharaman commented, “What I’m looking at is Sebi, with what it does, is able to see from the grain from the chaff. Regulatory tools, if used properly, coming out of this can lead to better corporate governance. There is no harm if India can also benefit from better corporate governance.”

Source : https://www.businesstoday.in/latest/corporate/story/adani-hindenburg-issue-regulatory-tools-can-lead-to-better-corporate-governance-says-fm-sitharaman-396185-2023-08-30

Group backed by billionaire George Soros planning expose on Indian firms: Report

A global network of investigative journalists which has the funding of billionaire George Soros is reportedly planning an ‘expose’ on certain corporate houses in India.

A group funded by billionaire George Soros is reportedly planning an ‘expose’ on certain corporate houses in India. (Photo: Reuters file)

Seven months after the US-based short seller, Hindenberg Research, came out with an explosive report on the Adani Group, the Organised Crime and Corruption Reporting Project (OCCRP), an organisation funded by figures like George Soros and the Rockefeller Brothers Fund – is planning another ‘expose’ on certain corporate houses in India, reported PTI news agency.

OCCRP is a global network of investigative journalists which “exposes crime and corruption so the public can hold power to account”, says the description on its website. The group might publish a report or a series of articles on certain corporate houses in India, said the PTI report.

It added that the ‘expose’ may involve overseas funds investing in the stocks of the corporate houses. These firms have not yet been identified but agencies are reportedly keeping a close eye on the capital market.

On its website, OCCRP lists Open Society Foundations, a philanthropic organisation established by George Soros, as one of the “institutional donors that make our work possible”. Others include the Ford Foundation, the Rockefeller Brothers Fund and the Oak Foundation.

The Hindenberg report which came out in January accused the Adani group companies of stock manipulation and accounting fraud. The stocks of the Adani Group tumbled and Gautam Adani’s position as the richest Indian in the world was dethroned by Reliance Industries Chairman and Managing Director Mukesh Ambani.

Source: https://www.indiatoday.in/india/story/group-backed-by-billionaire-george-soros-planning-expose-on-indian-firms-adani-hindenberg-2426267-2023-08-25

China’s foreign companies on edge after ‘state secrets’ raids

Business groups say probes into firms’ handling of information has raised uncertainty about operating in China.

Shanghai-headquartered Capvision is among a number of foreign firms that have been probed over their handling of sensitive information [File: Aly Song
Taipei, Taiwan – Foreign companies in China are on tenterhooks following a series of national security raids on consultancy firms that have highlighted the risks of doing business in the era of Chinese leader Xi Jinping.

Eric Zheng, the president of the American Chamber of Commerce, said on Tuesday he was concerned about reports that due diligence firms had been targeted by authorities as their work is “essential to doing business in China.”

Chinese authorities should “more clearly delineate the areas in which companies can or cannot conduct such due diligence,” Zheng said in a statement.

“This would give foreign companies more confidence and enable them to comply with Chinese regulations.”

Zheng’s remarks follow a similar warning by the US business group last month that China’s recent expansion of its espionage law “dramatically increases uncertainties and risks of doing business in the People’s Republic.”

The EU Ambassador to China Jorge Toledo Albinana on Tuesday said the legislation was “not good news” for those hoping to see a further opening of the Chinese economy.

The EU Chamber of Commerce said in a statement Beijing’s crackdowns “send a very mixed signal” as China seeks to restore business confidence following the abrupt end of its strict “zero COVID” strategy in December.

China’s CCTV has accused foreign consulting firms of leaking state secrets to bodies overseas [File: David Gray/Reuters]
Chinese state media said on Monday that authorities had launched an investigation into Capvision, a consulting firm with offices in New York, Shanghai, Beijing, Suzhou and Shenzhen, for offering to share state secrets and critical intelligence with firms overseas.

In a lengthy news report on Monday, CCTV said unspecified Western countries had carried out “rampant theft” of intelligence in critical industries related to China’s military and economy and accused “overseas institutions” of using consultancy firms to collect sensitive information.

The report accused Capvision of pressuring local experts to reveal company or state secrets on behalf of unknown clients, and said a senior researcher at a state-owned enterprise was sentenced to six years in prison on espionage charges related to their work for the consulting company.

The probe comes after Chinese law enforcement last month questioned staff of US consulting giant Bain & Company, and in March raided the Beijing office of New York-based due diligence firm Mintz Group and detained five employees.

Capvision, Bain and Mintz, all of which are US-based, source information and data on Chinese firms for clients like investment banks, hedge funds, and private companies that may invest in China or do business there.

Beijing has signalled a growing distrust of foreign institutions in recent months, expanding the country’s anti-spying law in April to encompass all “documents, data, materials, and items related to national security and interests.”

While the amended legislation does not come into effect until July, it has already sent a chill through foreign businesses, which have reported being cut off from access to corporate registries containing valuable information about Chinese companies.

While the recent investigations only directly affect a handful of foreign firms operating in China, the lack of transparency around the probes has sparked anxiety throughout the foreign business community, said Nick Marro, a global trade and China analyst at the Economist Intelligence Unit.

“[Foreign companies] are on board with the fact that Chinese authorities need to punish law-breaking when it occurs. However, given that a lot of these activities are occurring with a high degree of opacity, and not a lot of people know what’s going on, we’re operating based on rumours, rather than facts,” Marro told Al Jazeera. “And that uncertainty really undermines the efforts by the Chinese government to really restore that confidence.”

Source: https://www.aljazeera.com/economy/2023/5/10/chinas-foreign-companies-on-edge-after-national-security-raids

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