Mukesh Ambani on Bank of America board, first non-American member

MUMBAI: Billionaire Mukesh Ambani , chairman of India's most valued company Reliance Industries or RIL, has joined the board of the Bank of America Corporation, the largest US lender by assets. Mr Ambani's nomination will be ratified at the bank's annual meeting of shareholders.

"Bank of America's shareholders will benefit from the global perspective Mr Ambani brings to our board," Bank of America's chairman Charles O. Holliday, Jr was quoted as saying in a press statement issued late Wednesday evening, Indian time.

"It is a privilege and a great honour for me, as the first non-American citizen to join the board of one of the world's largest financial institutions" said Mr Ambani.

RIL shares rose 0.8% to close at Rs 1,045 on the BSE on Wednesday. The announcement came after market hours.

Mr Ambani, who figured among the top 10 on the Forbes billionaire list in 2011, owns RIL, India's largest private business enterprise with $44.6 billion in annual revenues and over $70 billion in market capitalisation.

RIL operations encompass production and exploration of oil and gas. It also runs a refinery at Jamnagar, Gujarat which is said to be the world's largest at a single location. It also has a petrochemical business and a fledging retail operation with around 1,000 stores.

RIL recently announced that it was entering into a joint venture with British Petroleum that operate various oil refineries and has assets in India. BP will own 30% of the assets. The group also has licences to offer fast internet access using wireless to all parts of India.

Source: EconomicTimes