New Delhi, September 10: Reliance Industries Limited (RIL) became India's first company to hit a market cap of $200 billion. The peak was reached by the Mukesh Ambani-led commercial giant following a spree of investments since mid-March. Even as most companies have shedded off amid the COVID-19-induced lockdowns, the shares of RIL during this period has climbed by 157 percent. Reliance Industries Stock Hits Record High as Silver Lake Picks Up 1.75% Stake in Reliance Retail, RIL up 2.6%.

According to the Bloomberg data, the m-cap of Reliance by late Wednesday had reached $2.1 trillion ($201 billion). This has brought the company almost at par with Apple Inc, the world's most valued company.

If the m-cap strength of Reliance is compared only amongst oil and natural gas companies, then Ambani has achieved the rare feat of surging past Saudi Aramco, which for years has been considered as the single-largest player in the sector.

Check List of World's Top 5 Firms With Highest M-Cap Value

  • Apple Inc - $2.1 trillion.

  • Saudi Aramco - $1.91 trillion.

  • Amazon.com Inc - $1.58 trillion

  • Microsoft Corp - 1.53 trillion

  • Alphabet Inc - $1.04 trillion.

The recent surge in the RIL strength is due the investment announced by California-based Silver Lake in Reliance Retail Ventures, the retail arm of RIL. Silver Lake will invest Rs 7,500 crores in lieu of 1.75 percent stakes in the company. Reliance Retail, in the coming weeks, is also expected to draw investments from KKR, Mubadala Investment Co. and Abu Dhabi Investment Authority.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Sep 10, 2020 01:11 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).