Reliance IPO of equity shares opens

New Delhi, Apr 12: Reliance Petroleum Limited's (RPL) Initial Public Offer of equity shares will open for bids tomorrow and is scheduled to close on April 20 at a price band set at Rs 57 to Rs 62 per share.

Retail investors have option to pay only Rs 16 per share on application. They can apply for a minimum 100 shares and a maximum of 1600 shares.

The issue will part finance the Rs 27,000 crore export-oreinted refinery being set up in a Special Economic Zone at Jamnagar, Gujarat. The 100 per cent export oriented refinery will have a capacity to process 5,80,000 barrels per stream days making it sixth ,largest refinery in the world. As apart of this project, RPL is also setting up a 900,000 tonne per annum polypropylene plant.

RPL is entering the capital market with a public issue of 135 crores equity shares of Rs 10 each for cash at premium to b e decided through a book building route to be conducted on the Mumbai Stock Exchange (BSE) and the National Stock Exchange (NSE).

Out of the issue, Reliance Industries Limited (RIL) will subscribe to 90 crore share at the issue in the proposed IPO. For this purpose, RIL has made a payment towards these 90 crore equity shares at Rs 62 per share amounting to Rs 5,580 crore.

The net size of the IPO available to the public is 45 crore shares. Of this, 60 per cent is reserved for proportionate allotment to qualified instituional buyers. Another 10 per cent is being reserved for proportionate allotment to non-institional buyers and the balance 30 per cent will be alotted to retail individual bidders on a proprtionate basis.

Formally announcing the IPO here, Nikhil Meswani, Executive Director, RIL said the Company had come up with its first IPO way back in 1977. The RPL's refinery set up in the SEZ at Jamnagar will have a 100 per cent tax expemtion for the first five years and 50 per cent tax waiver in the next five years.''Talks are on with Exxon Mobil for a strategic tie up'' to maximise the production capacity.

The new refinery will cater to the North American and West European market and would be the largest in Middle East and China region.

The combined production of the RIL group will be 1,240,000 Barrels Per Day (BPD) way ahead of the leader Parguana Refinery of Venezuela at 9,40,000 BPD. The third largest producer is SK Group of South Korea with 8,17,000 BPD.

UNI