Reliance Industries board approves bonus share issue in 1:1 ratio

India's Reliance Industries, the country's most valuable company, on Thursday approved a one-for-one issue of bonus shares and recommended an increase in authorised share capital.

The board recommended an increase in authorized share capital to Rs 50,000 crore ($5.96 billion) from 15,000 crore.

This is the oil-to-chemicals conglomerate's first bonus issue since 2017, when its stock price was roughly Rs 700.

Its stock price has more than quadrupled since then.

This will also be Reliance's sixth bonus issue since listing.

The bonus issue proposal was announced last week minutes before the company's annual general meeting where its chairman Mukesh Ambani said that Reliance will more than double in size, with sales and profit doubling at its retail and telecom arms.

Some analysts had said the shareholder meeting was underwhelming as Reliance did not provide any details on the timing of the initial public offerings of its retail and telecom units.

"When Reliance grows, we reward our shareholders handsomely," Ambani had said at the meet.

Reliance shares, which are up about 16 per cent so far this year, closed down 1.4 per cent at Rs 2,985.95.

Its shares rose last week following the bonus share plan announcement.