Talking at the company’s 91st annual shareholders meeting through an online platform, Anil Ambani said that promoters plan to raise shareholding in the company.

Industrialist Anil Ambani is not only planning to make his company Reliance Infrastructure debt-free but is also planning to raise stake in the company. Reliance ADAG group Chairman Anil Ambani’s statement comes close on the heels of telling a UK-court in February this year that his net worth is zero. Anil Ambani, also the younger brother of Reliance Industries’ Chairman Mukesh Ambani, has seen his net worth plummet in the bygone decade, from being a billionaire once, to now being under pressure as banks line up for repayments. Anil Ambani was directed by a UK court to pay $717 million to the three Chinese banks.

Talking at the company’s 91st annual shareholders meeting through an online platform, Anil Ambani said that promoters plan to raise shareholding in the company from the current 14.6%, over a period of time. Earlier this year in January, IDBI Trusteeship Services invoked 55 lakh equity shares of Reliance Infrastructure, which translates to 2.09% of the firm’s share capital. Prior to this, private sector lender Yes Bank had invoked 65 lakh pledged shares of the company. Reliance Project Ventures and management Private Limited held a 34% stake in Reliance Infrastructure at the end of the March quarter in 2019. A year later the shareholding is now down to 10.61%.

The beleaguered businessman is also looking to follow the path taken by his elder brother, Mukesh Ambani, as he aims to trim the debt of Reliance Infrastructure by the end of this year. The debt trimming efforts will be facilitated by monetising its assets to reduce debt which currently stands at Rs 6,000 crore. During the annual meeting, Anil Ambani informed shareholders that around Rs 60,000 crore of receivables were stuck in regulatory and arbitration matters for the last 5-10 years.

Among the biggest public shareholders of Reliance Infrastructure are Housing Development Finance Corporation (HDFC) and IndusInd bank, holding 8.26% and 4.38% of shares respectively. Reliance Infrastructure share price surged 4.9% on BSE Sensex on Wednesday morning to trade at Rs 31.9 per share. The stock has outperformed the benchmark indices, in percentage gains, rallying 253% from its March lows.