Innholdsfortegnelse for 22 December 2024 i Business Today

THE COUNTRY’S MOST valued companies have been ranked based on market capitalisation by Business Today every year since 1992. Like previous years, this year’s rankings are based on their average market capitalisation for the 12-month period from October 1, 2023, to September 30, 2024. We began with a master sample of around 4,800 listed firms. We used the BSE market capitalisation for all cases, except firms that are listed only on the NSE. Some 319 companies that were not traded on at least 20% of the 248 total trading days in the October 2023-September 2024 period were excluded from the list. Thereafter, we extracted the average (daily) market capitalisation of each company over the period under consideration and used it to rank the Top 1,000 companies. For a deeper perspective,…

WHEN RELIANCE INDUSTRIES Ltd (RIL) launched its Jio mobile telephony service in September 2016, it was like a cyclone making landfall. Existing rivals had no strategy (read: money) to stand before its initial free-for-six-months offer or its astute decision to go for a nationwide launch of the latest 4G VoLTE. The rivals were stuck with 3G, for which they had paid a bomb to get spectrum, or still testing 4G VoLTE in pockets. Then, at the commercial launch in March 2017, when the “free” period ended, Jio offered rock-bottom tariffs for data. All this for the convenience of pre-paid connections, meaning no fixed monthly rentals. (Jio launched its first post-paid service only in June 2021.) It was a rout. RIL had been putting together a strategy for the group’s second…

IF THE DECADE before the Covid-19 pandemic for the real estate sector was defined by stagnant growth, poor execution of projects, and occasional disruptions due to fraudulent practices by developers, the years that have followed since have been marked by massive growth and robust sales. If earlier the trend indicated subdued enthusiasm from potential homebuyers, new avenues of growth have opened up in recent years. Riding on the post-pandemic boom, the country’s property developers and other industry stakeholders are now more optimistic than ever about a turnaround the likes of which has never been witnessed before. From premiumisation in the existing pockets to the addition of newer micro markets thanks to rapid urbanisation and infrastructure development, the country’s leading real estate players are placing their bets on the changing landscape…

1 MUKESH AMBANI CHAIRMAN & MD, RELIANCE INDUSTRIES LIMITED ₹9.60 LAKH CRORE VALUE OF TOTAL PROMOTER HOLDING RIL HAS A PRESENCE IN HYDROCARBON EXPLORATION AND PRODUCTION, PETROLEUM REFINING AND MARKETING, PETROCHEMICALS, RETAIL AND TELECOMMUNICATIONS. AMBANI IS ALSO THE PROMOTER OF JIO FINANCIAL SERVICES AND NETWORK18, ALSO A PART OF THE BT500 LIST 2 GAUTAM ADANI FOUNDER AND CHAIRMAN, ADANI GROUP ₹8.27 LAKH CRORE VALUE OF TOTAL PROMOTER HOLDING SOME LISTED ENTITIES SUCH AS ADANI ENTERPRISES, ADANI GREEN ENERGY, ADANI PORTS, ADANI POWER, ADANI TOTAL GAS, ADANI WILMAR, ACC AND AMBUJA CEMENTS FEATURE ON THIS YEAR’S BT500 LIST 3 SUNIL BHARTI MITTAL FOUNDER AND CHAIRMAN, BHARTI ENTERPRISES ₹6.04 LAKH CRORE VALUE OF TOTAL PROMOTER HOLDING BHARTI ENTERPRISES IS A CONGLOMERATE THAT HAS BUSINESSES IN MANY SECTORS, INCLUDING TELECOMMUNICATIONS, MANUFACTURING, AGRICULTURE, REAL ESTATE, HOSPITALITY INDUSTRY AND…

RHI Magnesita is a €3.6-billion refractory products company that serves a range of industries such as steel, cement and non-ferrous metals and has a workforce of more than 20,000 people across 67 sites. Mergers and acquisitions (M&A) are a big component of the company’s growth. In the recent past, it has acquired Dalmia Bharat Refractories and Hi-Tech Chemicals in India. CEO Stefan Borgas, 60, says India makes him feel energised. In an interview with Business Today’s Krishna Gopalan, Borgas talks about the opportunities in India, the industry, and the challenges, among other things. Edited excerpts: Q: What makes India a different place to be? A: India is the one place in the world that you want to come to when you want to get energised. Right now, every [other] place in the…

THE BIG GUNS The Top 100 companies contributed more than ₹250 lakh crore in this year’s cumulative average market capitalisation* Figures in ₹ lakh crore; *Sum of average m-cap from October 2023 to September 2024 BFSI BOOST With a market cap of ₹87 lakh crore, the BFSI sector continues to lead in the BT500 list RISING VALUATIONS The average market capitalisation of BT500 companies rose for the fifth straight year amid heavy buying in the domestic equity markets FII BETS Global investors hold at least 50% stake in 10 of the BT500 companies this year Figures show FII stake in %; Data as of September 30, 2024 MF FAVOURITES Domestic institutional investors held more than 30% stake in 11 of the BT500 companies this year Figures shows MF stake in…

GOLIATHS OF GROWTH *FOR THE STUDY PERIOD OCTOBER 1, 2023, TO SEPTEMBER 30, 2024 #MANY OF THE SUBSIDIARIES FALL UNDER THE BANK; ^INCLUDES CENTRAL AND STATE PSUs SOURCE: ACE EQUITY; ONLY FIRMS THAT ARE A PART OF THE BT500 LIST HAVE BEEN CONSIDERED 1. THE HOUSE OF TATAS • Tata Consultancy Services ------------------2 • Titan Company --------------------------------21 • Tata Motors ------------------------------------22 • TataSteel --------------------------------------43 • Trent ---------------------------------------------50 • Tata Power Company -----------------------67 • Tata Consumer Products ------------------- 77 109 • Tata Communications ---------------------163 • TataElxsi --------------------------------------173 • TataTechnologies -------------------------180 • Voltas ------------------------------------------186 • Tata Investment Corporation -----------242 • TataChemicals -----------------------------255 • TejasNetworks -----------------------------340 • Tata Teleservices (Maharashtra) -------344 NOTE NUMBERS INDICATE RANK ON THIS YEAR’S BT500 LIST 2. RELIANCE INDUSTRIES • RelianceIndustries ------------------------------------------------1 • JIO Financial Services ------------------------------------------41 •…

A COUNTRY’S GROWTH story is often determined by its energy prowess and in India, power demand is burgeoning. To catch up, Indian power companies—both conventional and renewable—are ramping up investments in the sector. Investments in the power sector are skewed towards renewable energy and battery storage, and any future investments by power companies in thermal will be to replace the existing capacity, say experts. However, with the government announcing around 80 GW of new thermal capacity addition, coal-based power plants will continue to remain the largest player in India’s energy mix for the next few decades to meet the surging power demand. Various assessments peg a financing opportunity of around $40 trillion in the next 10 years in the areas of power generation, battery storage, and upgrading transmission infrastructure. Power…

AAMAGHATI WILDLIFE RESORT, RANTHAMBORE NATIONAL PARK The latest addition to the numerous hotels and resorts near Ranthambore National Park, Aamaghati Wildlife Resort is all about being one with nature without giving up on creature comforts. So, while a special technique involving mud, cow dung, and lime plaster, along with thatch roofs and bamboo details, is utilised throughout the resort, guests can also relax in the spa after a jungle safari or chill in one of the two swimming pools on the property. Spread across 5.3 acres of verdant landscape, the resort has 52 rooms across four categories, named after the famous tigers of Ranthambore. Wake up to the sound of chirping birds and star gaze in the evening with trained staff, enjoy a meal or a cocktail at one of…

BETWEEN OCTOBER 2023 and September 2024, the BSE Sensex—the stock market’s barometer—jumped 28%, climbing from the 65,828-mark in September 29, 2023 to an impressive 84,300 on September 30, 2024. This upswing in the 30-share BSE Sensex wasn’t just numbers on a chart; it also represented massive wealth creation. But the markets have been in a correction mode since then. Nearly ₹102 lakh crore was added to the market capitalisation (m-cap) of the BT500 companies, bringing their total valuation to a staggering ₹363 lakh crore. To put that in perspective, the Union government had proposed a budget of ₹100 lakh crore for infrastructure over five years in 2019-20—a figure this surge in m-cap has matched in just 12 months. And the Top 4 companies on the BT500 list—Reliance Industries Ltd, TCS, and…

IT IS NOT easy to dominate an industry and yet be agile enough to capitalise on new trends in customer demand. Maruti Suzuki India Ltd (MSIL), the country’s largest car manufacturer, has managed to do just that, pouncing on new opportunities while ramping up its distribution network. The carmaker’s efforts have borne fruit, as evidenced by Maruti Suzuki’s jump in the BT500 ranking of India’s most valuable companies by market capitalisation. In the 2024 list, the company has risen four spots to No. 14 from No. 18 in 2023. Between October 2023 and September 2024, the study period for the annual BT500 list, the company’s market capitalisation grew 32.1% year-on-year (YoY) to ₹3.63 lakh crore. Its total income rose about 21% YoY in 2023-24 to ₹1.45 lakh crore, while profit…

INDIA’S PHARMACEUTICAL BUSINESS was a cocktail of ingredients that ranged from success in foreign markets to leadership in a field, from filling supply-chain gaps to making APIs for new drugs. Some companies saw their market capitalisation grow, while some slipped in the BT500 rankings despite doing the right things. Others faced challenges in innovation, regulatory hurdles (read: the US Food & Drug Administration), and market positioning. CAPITALISING ON GLOBAL TRENDS Sun Pharmaceutical Industries saw its market capitalisation rise by 45% to ₹3.5 lakh crore, moving up four places in the BT500 ranking, with shareholders seeming to give a thumbs up to its strategies. The company showed steady growth in FY24, with gross sales rising by 10% to ₹47,759 crore. Its formulation sales grew by 9.5% in the domestic market to ₹14,889…

AFTER A RELATIVELY muted 2023, the primary market has seen a turnaround in 2024, hitting new records in terms of fundraising. Data available till November 30 shows that ₹1.34 lakh crore has been raised in 2024 through initial public offerings (IPOs), beating the previous record of ₹1.18 lakh crore raised in the whole of 2021. It is a year that has seen the return of big issues. In October, Hyundai Motor India raised ₹27,870 crore in its IPO, which is the biggest ever in the country. That was followed in November by Swiggy, which raised ₹11,327.43 crore from its IPO. Indeed, that IPO raised almost as much as the ₹12,362 crore raised in the whole of 2019, a year before the Covid pandemic. Thanks to the stellar showing this year,…

What was the problem you were grappling with? During my long stint with an MNC, I was in the corporate office, successfully leading a large functional role across India. I was recognised as a high-performing member, but started feeling restless as I was looking for a chance to advance to the next grade. But that role did not have a straight path for promotion. The learning curve was limited as well. Whom did you approach for advice and why? I reached out to my boss (then Vice President Vikas Chawla) to seek guidance. He assured that the organisation sees high potential in me and said, “roles are graded, not individuals”. He also immediately set up a meeting with (Atul Singh) then Chairman, Asia Pacific, given his broader global organisational perspective…