Reliance Industries Ltd is foraying into the commercial real estate sector and has incorporated a new unit called Reliance SOU Ltd, the company said in stock exchange filings. Industrialist Mukesh Ambani’s company said that it has invested an initial capital of Rs 1 lakh in the newly launched subsidiary. “The Company has incorporated a wholly owned subsidiary named ‘Reliance SOU Limited’ (‘RSOUL’) to carry on, inter alia, the business of development of properties for commercial use and invested Rs. 1,00,000 in the equity shares of RSOUL,” RIL said in the filing. With this move, RIL will now compete with the biggies like Adani Properties, Tata Realty & Infrastructure, Shapoorji Pallonji & Co, among others in the commercial real estate sector.
The new foray by Reliance is yet another bet by the conglomerate which has, recently, transformed from predominantly being an energy player to a more consumer-focused business group.
Before this, Reliance had earlier shown interest in real estate in 2019 when it had acquired a 65 per cent stake in a real estate project in Bandra Kurla Complex in Mumbai for Rs 1,105 crore. And a month after this move, had set up Reliance Navi Mumbai Infra Development for real estate development. Reliance had invested Rs 5 lakh as initial capital in the entity. It also has a very active real estate division that takes up development projects such as the Jio World Centre and Jio World Garden at Bandra Kurla.
The commercial real estate market in India has grown stronger with increasing occupier interest, as well as the rise of small and medium real estate land developers and a segment of institutional capital which have acted as catalysts for the sector. And RIL