HSBC, RELIANCE COMPLETE INDIA’S FIRST DIGITAL EXPORT TRANSACTION

Reliance Industries and HSBC complete ground-breaking electronic documentary trade transaction

e-Presentation to save time and money for Indian companies

India 10 November 2016: HSBC and Reliance Industries Ltd announced that they have recently completed a landmark digital transaction, e-Presentation, involving the electronic presentation of export documents under a Letter of Credit. This paves the way for faster, cost-efficient settlement of cross-border trade. 

Instead of exchanging documents under a Letter of Credit through physical movement, as would be normal practice, the partners e-presented documents through a digital platform built by London-based Bolero. In doing so they were able to settle the trade in a single day thus improving the cash-to-cash cycle. A paper based documentary credit transaction typically takes upto 15 days to settle. 

Aditya Gahlaut, Head of Global Trade and Receivables Finance for HSBC India, said: 

“This first step we’ve taken with e-Presentation has big implications for companies in India and elsewhere. It shows that the participants in a cross-border trade – from producers to banks and shippers – are willing to collaborate to achieve an end-to-end digital transaction. It also shows that collaboration is worthwhile, optimising companies’ working capital so they can move on to their next deal sooner.”  The Indian government has been driving the ‘Make in India’ agenda and expects exports to fuel economic growth. Even though the export growth rate is expected to outrun the country’s GDP growth which is at approximately 7.5%, cross border trade is regulated by multiple government agencies and involves extensive procedural requirements, making it paper intensive. Technology is thus expected to play a critical role in transforming the paper based trade finance business into a digitally driven business; making the movement of documents faster, cutting costs and optimising working capital. 

Soumyo Dutta, Group Treasurer for Reliance Industries Limited said, “Reliance expects global trade to make a rapid shift to electronic platforms in the coming years. This transaction marks the first step in evolving the ecosystem where all the key players participate to drive efficiencies and lower costs”.  Digitisation of trade communication and documentation is imperative both as an enabler for the growth as well as a tool for all stakeholders to monitor and facilitate the same.  HSBC and Reliance have taken a lead in this strategic initiative, which is an industry first for India. After the successful completion of the first e-Presentation transaction, HSBC India will make e-Presentation available to its other Global and Commercial Banking clients. 

Commenting on this landmark deal, Stuart P Milne, Group General Manager & CEO, HSBC India, said “As the world’s leading international trade bank, we have the responsibility to play the lead in the digital transformation of the trade finance landscape. This transaction is a significant move in that direction.  We have built the required capability to support this industry-leading initiative and will continue to make investments in the digitisation of trade to support our customers and engage stakeholders in building a sustainable trade finance ecosystem.”

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CM Chandra Babu Naidu Launches ‘JioNet’ High Speed Wi-Fi in SVU Campus

Tirupati, 2nd October 2016: Reliance Jio Infocomm Limited (RJIL), a subsidiary of Reliance Industries Limited (RIL), today launched ‘JioNet’ High Speed Wi-Fi service in Sri Venkateshwara University (SVU) campus located in the Temple City of Tirupati, Andhra Pradesh.

 AP CM interacting with his old friends via Video Conference using JIONET

 AP CM interacting with old friends using JIONET

 CM inaugurating jionet at SVU Tirupathi

This service was formally launched by Honourable Chief Minister of Andhra Pradesh Shri N Chandrababu Naidu at a public event organised in SVU campus. Using JioNet, CM connected with University Vice chancellor Shri Avula Damodaram and Registrar Shri M Devarajulu through Video Call. He also interacted with his friends S/Shri P.Subramanium Naidu, Subba Rayudu, Padmanabha Naidu, Subba Rao, Narayanappa Naidu, Koteswara Rao, R.Anand, P.S.Mururatnam and Gurumurthy who accompanied VC and Registrar.

About Reliance Jio Infocomm Limited:
Reliance Jio Infocomm Limited (“Jio”), a subsidiary of Reliance Industries Limited (“RIL”), has built a world-class all-IP data strong future proof network with latest 4G LTE technology. It is the only network conceived and born as a Mobile Video Network from the ground up and supporting Voice over LTE technology. It is future ready and can be easily upgraded to support even more data, as technologies advance on to 5G, 6G and beyond.

Jio will bring transformational changes in the Indian digital services space to enable the vision of Digital India for 1.2 billion Indians and propel India into global leadership in digital economy. It has created an eco-system comprising network, devices, applications and content, service experience and affordable tariffs for everyone to live the Jio Digital Life. As part of its customer offers, Jio has revolutionised the Indian telecom landscape by making voice calls for Jio customers absolutely free, across India, to any network, and always. Jio makes India the highest quality, most affordable data market in the world so that every Indian can do Datagiri.

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Jio Associates with TEDxHyderabad As Digital Connectivity Partner

Hyderabad, September 22, 2016 – Reliance Jio Infocomm Limited (RJIL), a subsidiary of Reliance Industries Limited (RIL), is proud to be associated with TEDxHyderabad as its Digital Connectivity Partner. Independently organized and licensed by TED, the daylong TEDxHyderabad 2016 event to be held on September 25 at Sandhya Convention Center in Gachibowli. As Digital Connectivity Partner, Reliance Jio will be providing JioNet high speed internet service at the venue.

The theme of this year’s TEDxHyderabad is “Crafting our future”. There will be 13 extraordinary innovators, thinkers, and speakers to present their inspiring talks and ideas to wow 1,500 attendees, coming from different parts of the city. The audience will also listen to incredible TED talks from TED.com and watch some brilliant performances by renowned performers.

Besides the Hon’ble Minister for IT, Gov’t of Telangana, Kalvakunta Taraka Rama Rao, the high profile speakers at the event include documentary filmmaker Saeed Taji Farouky;  virtuoso pianist Timothy Birendra Marthand; blade runner Kiran Kanojia; marine biologist, Asha De Vos; emergency response specialist, Dr. G.V. Ramana Rao; traditional weaver and inventor Chintikindi Mallesham; mountaineer Jaahnavi Sriperambuduru; visionary entrepreneur Srikanth Bolla; number maestro Sanjay Jain; web master Jasminder Singh Gulati; Bitcoin prodigy Rajesh Dhuddu and shooting alchemist, Gagan Narang. Each of these speakers will present their ideas for a maximum of 18 minutes. 

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Naval force to Oil, IT industry giants turn top recruiters at UPES

 ·         Demand for Industry-ready professionals attracts 28% more recruiters

·         16 students hired by companies overseas

New Delhi, August 18th, 2016: Indian Navy, corporate giants Reliance Industries Limited, Tata Consultancy Services and IT majors Infosys, IBM and L&T Infotech are among the top recruiters this year at UPES. This year saw over 300 recruiters hiring 1251 students from the University. Number of organizations that appeared for campus placements this year is 28% more than last year. 

While the overall placement figure stands at 90%, 100% of BBA students, 94% of MBA students, 92% of LLB students and 87% of B.Tech students have been successfully placed. Top recruiters this year includes Reliance Industries Ltd., TCS, Infosys Ltd., KPIT, IBM, L&T Infotech, Global Data, CGI Information Systems & Management Consultants. Another 16 students got placed in Middle-East and in the African continent.  

Indian Navy, through its University Entry Scheme, has hired 4 B.Tech students from Aerospace, Electronics, Oil & Gas Informatics and IT Infrastructure specializations.  “We are pleased to inform that campus selection from UPES has been very encouraging in the preceding years. High selection rate of the UPES students at 'Service Selection Board' speaks volumes about the high standard of grooming and professional education being imparted. We look forward to visit UPES campus for 'University Entry Scheme' once again in 2016”, said Capt. Ajay Sharma, Director, Manpower Planning& Recruitment, Indian Navy.

This year saw significant demand for students with specialization in Cloud Computing and Virtualization Technology, Mainframe Technology, Business Analytics and Optimization, Artificial Intelligence, Computational Fluid Dynamics, Nuclear Science, Renewable Energy, Transportation and Industrial Design and Applied Petroleum Engineering. 

Commenting on this trend, Rituraaj Juneja, Director- Career Services at UPES said, “While we are witnessing great demand for industry-specific specialized knowledge and skills, recruiters place equal emphasis on a candidate’s soft skills like professional eagerness, communication and presentation skills, general aptitude and most importantly, their attitude! Our industry-aligned curricula designed to cater to industry requirements coupled with rigorous ‘Personality Enhancement Programs’ has helped us in creating genuine industry-ready professionals”.  

About UPES: 

University of Petroleum and Energy Studies (UPES) was established in the year 2003 through UPES Act, 2003 of the State Legislature of Uttarakhand. UPES is recognized by University Grants Commission (UGC) under Section 2(f) of the UGC Act, 1956 and accredited by National Assessment and Accreditation Council (NAAC).UPES offers 87 graduate and post graduate courses in the high-growth sectors like oil and gas, power, infrastructure, information technology, transportation, electronics, high technology, design, business, planning and architecture, public policy, legal studies and more. BBA, MBA, B Tech, M Tech, B Des, M Des, LLB, LLM, B Plan, M Plan, MA and many more are offered under these schools and colleges. Because of its multi disciplinary courses, UPES graduates are a preferred choice for the companies. UPES has maintained a consistent placement track record of 85% placements year on year. This demonstrates UPES’ commitment, quality of students, and the holistic approach of its dedicated faculty.

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RJIL issues INR 2,000 crore 5-year NCDs

Mumbai, July 7, 2016: Reliance Jio Infocomm Limited (RJIL), a subsidiary of Reliance Industries Limited (RIL), today issued INR 2,000 crore of 5 year Non-Convertible Debentures (NCDs), bearing a coupon of 8.32% per annum, payable annually. The issue has been assigned a rating of AAA by CRISIL and ICRA. The proceeds of the issuance shall be utilized by RJIL for rolling out a state-of-the-art digital services business in India.    RJIL is the first issuer outside the financial services industry in India, to raise funds digitally through the EBP route. This is also the largest debt issuance in the Indian market by any issuer since the electronic bidding platform has been mandated by SEBI for private placement of debt, effective 1st July this year.   The transaction was fully subscribed within minutes of opening and was eventually over-subscribed with a total book size in excess of INR 3500 crores, Reliance Jio said. Key investors include the prominent asset management companies and banks.   “We are overwhelmed by the response that we have received for our maiden issuance on the BSE-BOND platform. It reinforces the faith investors have in our next generation digital services business. The launch of the EBP platform is a significant step towards the development of market infrastructure for Indian Corporate Bond market. It will make the debt issuance process significantly more smooth and transparent for issuers as well as investors” said Soumyo Dutta, Treasurer, Reliance Industries Limited.    

    

About Reliance Jio Infocomm Limited: Reliance Jio Infocomm Limited (RJIL), a subsidiary of Reliance Industries Limited (RIL), India’s largest private sector company, is the first telecom operator to hold pan India Unified License.  

RJIL is setting up an entire digital ecosystem with stated goal to break the digital divide between ‘India’ and ‘Bharat’ and propel India into global leadership in digital economy. The ecosystem consists of pan-India high speed data network, specially designed devices to run on this network, a wide variety of applications and services -- from news, entertainment, payment, business, healthcare and education – and rich content.  

RJIL has created a legacy free, next-generation voice and broadband network which can be seamlessly upgraded even to 5G and beyond. It will be the only company in the world providing next generation digital services over an end-to-end all-IP network at this scale.  

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RIL AND SBI EXECUTE THE SUBSCRIPTION AND SHAREHOLDERS' AGREEMENT FOR SETTING UP PAYMENTS BANK

Mumbai, July 1, 2016: 

The Subscription and Shareholders' Agreement was signed by RIL as promoter with a 70% equity contribution and SBI as Joint Venture partner with a 30% equity contribution on June 30, 2016. 

RIL and SBI in-principle agreed to partner and explore the opportunity of fulfilling the needs of the unbanked and under-banked segments by providing relevant financial services products. To that effect, RIL and SBI had entered into a non-binding memorandum of understanding in February 2015 to set out the principal terms. 

RBI granted an 'in-principle' approval to RIL as a promoter in September 2015 for the setting up of a Payments Bank pursuant to the Banking Regulation Act, 1949 and as per the Guidelines for Licensing of "Payments Banks" dated 27 November 2014. 

By combining RIL's technology, last mile reach and distribution through RIL's Telecom & Retail initiatives and SBI's banking expertise in offering financial services to millions of retail consumers and small enterprises across the country, the Payments Bank will work towards digitising payments and promoting digital savings and investment products thereby acting as a catalyst in creating a cash-less society. 

All requisite Regulatory and Statutory approvals will now be sought for operationalizing the Payments Bank. 

About RIL 

Reliance Industries Limited (RIL) is India's largest private sector company, with a consolidated turnover of INR 296,091 crore (US$ 44.7 billion), cash profit of INR 40,737 crore (US$ 6.1 billion) and net profit of INR 27,630 crore (US$ 4.2 billion) for the year ended March 31, 2016. 

RIL is the first private sector company from India to feature in Fortune's Global 500 list of World's Largest Corporations', currently ranking 158th In terms of revenues and 142nd in terms of profits. RIL ranks 238th in the Financial Times' FT Global 500 2015 list of the world's largest companies. RIL's activities span hydrocarbon exploration and production, petroleum refining and marketing, petrochemicals, retail and telecommunications. 

About SBI 

SBI is India's largest bank, with 16,784 branches in India, 198 international offices in 37 countries and approx. 301 million active customer accounts as of Mar 31, 2016. It is also the only Indian bank listed in the Fortune 500. The Bank had deposits, net advances and Annexure 1 total assets base of Rs 17,30,722 crores, Rs 14,63,700 crores and Rs 22,59,063 crores, respectively, as of Mar 31, 2016, the largest by each measure among banking institutions in India. 

In order to expand its distribution network, SBI has tied up with over 64,628 Customer Service Points all over the country. 

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