India's richest man loses 5.6 billion dollars amid Rupee collapse
New Delhi (AsiaNews / Agencies) - Mukesh Ambani, the richest man in India, has become one of the "poorest" billionaires in the country: the collapse of the rupee to a historic low burnt 24% of his fortune. From May 1st to present the president of Reliance Industries Ltd. (RIL), operator of the largest oil refinery complex in the world, has lost 5.6 billion dollars. According to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index, the 56-year old billionaire is "left" with net assets of 17.5 billion dollars.
Last month, the
Indian rupee has touched record lows against the dollar, causing the collapse
of more than 3% of the Mumbai Stock Exchange. A
reduction of monetary stimulus by the U.S. Federal Reserve (Fed) had negative
repercussions on the local market.
"With
the depreciation of the rupee - Munesh Khanna, senior partner of Grant Thortnton Llp in Mumbai told Bloomberg - the value of investments of
Indian billionaires is worth less in dollars. Foreign
institutional investors are invested in the larger-cap companies and are
pulling out money from India. That is putting a lot of pressure on those companies".
The
wealth of Anil Ambani, Mukesh's younger brother, was also hit: he has lost 1.3
billion dollars (17%). His
fortune is estimated at 6.3 billion dollars and he is considered the eighth
richest man in India.
Much
of the production of the two refineries at Jamnagar Reliance - in the Indian
state of Gujarat - is for export and sale in U.S.. A
stronger dollar increases earnings in rupees the Mukesh company.
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24/04/2009
