Mukesh Ambani Owned Reliance Industries Bags India’s Biggest Overseas Loan Since 2023; Raises Record $2.9 Bn

Mukesh Ambani owned Reliance Industries Limited (RIL) has successfully secured a dual-currency loan amounting to $2.9 billion, marking the largest overseas loan by an Indian company in over a year, as per Bloomberg's report.

According to Bloomberg, this loan saw participation from 55 lenders, making it the largest syndicate loan arrangement in Asia this year. The high demand for this loan reflects lenders' interest in quality investment opportunities amid a low volume of significant deals. In 2025, loan activity in the Asia Pacific region excluding Japan has dropped to a two-decade low, with only $29 billion raised in major currencies like the US dollar, euro, and yen.

The loan is divided into two portions, one of $2.4 billion and the other of ¥67.7 billion that is roughly $462 million. The deal was finalised on May 9, according to Bloomberg sources familiar with the matter.

This is the first time since 2023 that Reliance Industries has borrowed money from international lenders. Back in 2023, the company had raised over $8 billion through overseas loans. That round of funding included both the main company (Reliance Industries) and its telecom division, Reliance Jio Infocomm Ltd. Just like the current loan, about 55 different lenders had participated in that previous borrowing as well.

Reliance Industries Loan Credit Rating

An important point is that Reliance has a very strong credit rating, even better than the Indian government's rating. It is rated Baa2 by Moody's and BBB by Fitch, which means global investors see it as a financially stable and trustworthy company. This kind of rating is rare for a private company in any country, especially when it is higher than the sovereign (government) credit rating.

Reliance Industries Financial Performance

In its financial results for the fourth quarter of the fiscal year 2024-25 (FY25), Reliance Industries disclosed a net debt position of Rs 1,17,000 crore. The high level of net debt is largely attributed to the company's significant capital spending during the year. According to the RIL performance report, Reliance invested Rs 1,13,100 crore in capital expenditure in FY25.

V. Srikanth, Chief Financial Officer (CFO) of RIL shared during the company's fourth-quarter earnings conference call, "It has been a flat net debt environment, and if you look at the capex versus our cash profits, we are clearly below - all the numbers are quite healthy and allow us to continue investing."

In FY25 Q4, Reliance Industries' overall operating profit, that is earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) grew by 3% compared to the same time last year, reaching Rs 43,800 crore. The company's net profit also went up 2% to Rs 19,400 crore, matching what experts had predicted.

Segment-wise Performances of RIL Business

The growth was mainly supported by Jio Digital Services, which posted an 18% jump in profit to Rs 17,300 crore, and the Reliance Retail business, which also did well with a 15% increase in profit to Rs 6,500 crore.

However, not all parts of the Reliance's business did as well. The Oil-to-Chemicals division, a key part of Reliance, saw its profit fall by 10% to Rs 15,100 crore compared to last year. Similarly, the Oil and Gas segment saw its earnings go down by 9% to Rs 5,100 crore.

Reliance Industries is stepping up its investments across various sectors, backed by a fresh $2.9 billion overseas loan. This financing move aligns with RIL Chairman Mukesh Ambani's ambitious vision, announced during the company's Annual General Meeting (AGM) in August 2024, where he stated his goal of moving Reliance from being among the world's top 50 most valuable companies into the top 30.

The loan, split into a $2.4 billion dollar tranche and a ¥67.7 billion yen tranche, will help support Reliance's large-scale capital expenditure plans. In FY25 alone, the company spent over Rs 1.13 lakh crore in capital investments, pushing its net debt to Rs 1.17 lakh crore by the end of March 2025. The funds are expected to fuel growth in key segments such as digital services (Jio), retail, and new energy.