RELIANCE

SINGAPORE, Feb 5 (Reuters) - Asia's diesel market backwardation structures eased further and window deals slowed down from the past few trading sessions, with jet fuel window discussions equally thin.

March refiner sales stayed brisk, with more regional cargoes for early month loading available in the spot market, some trade sources said.

Higher premiums for March were attributed to some key buyers trying to secure their March cargoes first ahead of concerns that the refinery maintenance season could curb spot availability.

Refining margins GO10SGCKMc1 inched down further to nearly $20 a barrel.

Cash differentials GO10-SIN-DIF gained slightly to premiums of nearly 95 cents a barrel, despite a weaker backwardation structure, as bids on the trading window stayed firm.

Regrade JETREG10SGMc1 continued to be discussed at discounts of slightly more than $1 a barrel, with gasoil markets still more robust than jet fuel.

SINGAPORE CASH DEALS O/AS

- No deal for gasoil or jet fuel

INVENTORIES

- Singapore's middle distillates inventories gained to nearly 9 million barrels despite falling net exports of diesel and jet fuel, official government data showed on Thursday. O/SING1

- U.S. crude stocks and distillate inventories fell while gasoline inventories rose in the week ended January 30 as a winter storm gripped large swathes of the country, the Energy Information Administration said on Wednesday. EIA/S

NEWS

- Oil prices fell more than $1 a barrel on Thursday after the U.S. and Iran agreed to hold talks in Oman on Friday, easing concerns that a potential military conflict between them could disrupt supplies from the key Middle East producing region. O/R

- Singapore's Aster Chemicals and Energy expects to complete several projects in the second half of this year to raise its refining capacity and import oil on supertankers to lower costs, its chief financial officer said.

- Investors rushed to lock in oil prices at record levels in January amid concerns around Iranian crude supplies and more Venezuelan barrels heading to the U.S. Gulf Coast.

- India's Reliance Industries RELI.NS has boughtone very large crude carrier containing 2 million barrels of Venezuelan oil from trader Vitol at a discount of around $6.5-$7 per barrel to ICE Brent for April delivery, trade sources said on Thursday.

PRICES

(Reporting by Trixie Yap; Editing by Leroy Leo)

(([email protected];))

Adds background, J.P. Morgan note, Russian foreign ministry's comments in paragraphs 2, 7-8

Feb 4 (Reuters) - India's Russian oil imports slipped in January, continuing a downturn that began in December, as refiners sought more alternative barrels under Western sanctions pressure and ongoing U.S.–India trade talks, Reuters sources said and data showed.

Analysts and traders have said Moscow faces a steep decline in oil and gas revenue, which accounts for nearly a quarter of the Russian government's budget revenue, if Washington succeeds in persuading India to stop importing Russia's oil.

On Monday, U.S. President Donald Trump announced a trade deal with India to cut tariffs to 18% from 50% in exchange for New Delhi halting Russian oil purchases and lowering trade barriers.

Indian refiners have been redrawing crude import strategies in recent months to shift away from top supplier Russia and boost imports from the Middle East.

India imported 1.215 million barrels per day (bpd) of Russian crude in January, of which the Nayara refinery accounted for 0.41 million bpd, with IOC and BPCL taking 0.58 million bpd and 0.19 million bpd, respectively, while Reliance imported no Russian crude last month, according to provisional data from analytics firm Kpler.

India's Russian oil imports in January were down by some 12% on a daily basis from December, Reuters calculations showed. Those oil imports in December dropped about 22% from November to 1.38 million barrels per day.

"Our base case is that India will largely exit from sanctioned counterparties, but will maintain Russian imports at around 0.8–1.0 million bpd, accounting for 17–21% of total crude imports," J.P. Morgan said in a note.

RUSSIA UPBEAT ABOUT OIL TRADE WITH INDIA

Russia's foreign ministry said on Wednesday it had no reason to believe that India had reconsidered its approach to Russian oil imports following a trade deal that New Delhi struck with the U.S.

Indian refiners have not been told by the government to stop buying Russian oil and would need a wind-down period to complete purchases already in process, two refining sources said on Tuesday, following the trade deal with Washington.

India's Reliance Industries Ltd, operator of the world's largest refining complex, will buy up to 150,000 barrels per day of Russian oil from February for its domestic market-focused refinery, a company executive said last week.

The country's largest refiner overall, Indian Oil Corp, has committed to buying more Brazilian crude in the fiscal year starting April, after reducing Russian oil imports.

(Reporting by Reuters; Editing by Hugh Lawson and Paul Simao)

Adds milestone to paragraph 1, adds chart

By Bharath Rajeswaran and Vivek Kumar M

Feb 3 (Reuters) - Indian shares jumped to post their best day in nine months on Tuesday, led by Reliance and heavyweight financials, while export-oriented stocks powered a broad rally after the India–U.S. trade deal removed a key market overhang.

Both benchmarks surged about 5% in early trade. At close, the Nifty 50 .NSEI settled 2.55% higher at 25,727.55 points, while the BSE Sensex .BSESN gained 2.54% to 83,739.13, to log their strongest single-session rise since May 2025.

U.S. President Donald Trump on Monday announced a trade deal with India that slashes U.S. tariffs on Indian goods to 18% from 50% in exchange for New Delhi halting Russian oil purchases and lowering trade barriers.

All 16 major sectors logged gains, while the broader small-caps .NIFSMCP100 and mid-caps .NIFMDCP100 jumped 2.8% each. Forty-six of the Nifty 50 constituents advanced.

Index heavyweight Reliance Industries RELI.NS jumped 3.4%. Top private lenders HDFC Bank HDBK.NS and ICICI Bank ICBK.NS rose 2.2% and 2.7%, leading the benchmark rally.

The rupee INR=IN strengthened against the dollar, posting its best day in seven years on expectations that the deal will lure foreign fund inflows towards Indian assets after sustained outflows over the last year.

"Higher tariffs on Indian goods had raised a balance-of-payments risk, contributing to rupee depreciation and triggering foreign outflows in a self-feeding cycle," said Peeyush Mittal, portfolio manager at Matthews Asia, adding that the trade deal breaks the loop and will lend stability to rupee and stocks.

The delay in the India-U.S. trade deal, lack of exposure to emerging themes such as artificial intelligence and muted earnings were the key reasons for the foreign selling in Indian stocks, since the start of 2025.

Foreign portfolio investors have offloaded shares worth about $23 billion since the start of 2025, triggering a rare underperformance compared with Asian and emerging market peers.

"The trade deal announcement does change the immediate outlook on India and sets a positive tone, which is good for equities in the short to medium term," said Vineet Arora, managing director at NAV Capital Emerging Star fund, a Singapore-based foreign investor.

Export-linked sectors such as auto ancillaries, textiles, apparel, jewellery, IT, pharma, seafood, engineering goods, renewables, speciality chemicals, electronics manufacturers will find their flavour again, Arora said.

On the day, all the export-linked sectors surged.

Eternal ETEA.NS gained 2.6% on inclusion into Jefferies' model India portfolio, with the brokerage terming it a "FPI favourite". Adani Ports APSE.NS climbed 9.1% on raising the upper end of its core earnings forecast for the current fiscal.

(Reporting by Bharath Rajeswaran and Vivek Kumar M in Bengaluru; Editing by Sherry Jacob-Phillips, Subhranshu Sahu and Nivedita Bhattacharjee)

(([email protected]; +91 9769003463;))

By Arpan Chaturvedi, Aditya Kalra and Nikunj Ohri

NEW DELHI, Feb 2 (Reuters) - India's budget introduced a customs duty of 30% on imports of animals and birds from Monday, a move set to boost expenses for the nation's most prominent zoo, run by the family of Asia's richest man, Mukesh Ambani.

The 3,500-acre (1,400-hectare) Vantara zoo, housing about 2,000 species in the western state of Gujarat, is run by the philanthropic arm of Ambani's Reliance. None of India's many zoos, often state-run, imports animals on a similar scale.

Since 2022, a Reuters analysis found in September, it has imported animals such as cheetahs, rhinoceroses and scores of reptiles from countries such as South Africa, the United Arab Emirates and Venezuela.

The government gave no rationale for its decision to scrap an existing duty exemption for such imports. Vantara did not respond to Reuters queries.

"Even large, globally benchmarked zoological and conservation projects, including facilities such as Vantara, will be affected," said Rajat Mohan, a senior partner at Indian law firm AMRG & Associates.

"While the overall import volume in this segment may be limited, the impact on cost structures is significant."

CONCERN OVER INTERNATIONAL RESCUES

Vantara featured in pre-wedding celebrations in 2024 for the centre's leader Anant Ambani, the youngest son of Mukesh Ambani. It has been visited by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, and soccer star Lionel Messi toured it with Anant Ambani in December.

Vantara has previously told Reuters it never pays commercial consideration for any animal acquired, but incurs costs for insurance and freight as it transfers them only for rescue, conservation and rehabilitation purposes.

"While (the new tax is) designed to accelerate domestic breeding and self-sufficiency, its application imposes a significant financial burden on international rescue missions," said Delhi-based lawyer Manuj Sabharwal.

Vantara has been at the centre of contention after a U.N. wildlife trade body, CITES, found discrepancies last year in trade data and flagged insufficient checks on the origin of some animals.

However, India's Supreme Court cleared it of any wrongdoing. While Vantara says it complies with all laws, European officials have said they are keeping close watch on any exports it receives.

Vantara's shipments had a declared value of $9 million so far, the Reuters analysis found.

The value of one consignment of 26 rare parrots from Germany in 2023 was declared as $25,194 for insurance and freight purposes, with import tax of $7,500 waived in line with tax exemptions prevailing at the time.

(Editing by Clarence Fernandez)

((Email: [email protected]; X: @adityakalra;))

By Aditi Shah and Dhwani Pandya

NEW DELHI, Feb 1 (Reuters) - India said on Sunday foreign companies using data centres built in the country to provide services to global clients will not face any taxes for doing so for more than 20 years, hoping to assuage concerns of possible tax liabilities on the sector.

Scores of data centres have been built in India in recent years, but lawyers told Reuters that foreign companies had been concerned that New Delhi could in future impose taxes on their global income for using a data centre located in the country.

Those concerns were set to rest by Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman in her 2026-27 budget speech, where she said India will "provide (a) tax holiday till 2047 to any foreign companies that provide cloud services to their customers globally, by using data centre services from India."

Vaibhav Gupta, partner at tax firm Dhruva Advisors, said: "This announcement helps in bringing clarity to foreign companies and lends stability in (their) tax position in India till 2047," noting foreign companies would no longer need to worry about potential taxes on their global income on the basis they use a data centre in India.

Google GOOGL.O said in October it will invest $15 billion in an AI data centre project in Andhra Pradesh state, while Microsoft MSFT.O and Amazon AMZN.O have poured billions into data centres in India. Indian conglomerates like Adani ADEL.NS and Reliance RELI.NS are also investing.

Amazon, Microsoft and Google did not immediately respond to requests for comment on the government's tax measure.

"Data centres will be a major strength for India through which we can provide new services to the world," IT minister Ashwini Vaishnav told reporters.

(Reporting by Aditi Shah in New Delhi and Dhwani Pandya in Mumbai; Additional reporting by Aditya Kalra in New Delhi, Haripriya Suresh, Sai Ishwar, Abhirami G in Bengaluru; Editing by David Holmes)

(([email protected]; +91-11-4954 8023, +91-11-3015 8023; Reuters Messaging: twitter: @aditishahsays))

** Shares of India's Reliance Industries RELI.NS down 11.5% in January vs benchmark Nifty 50 index's .NSEI 3.4% decline

** RELI set for its worst month since March 2020

** Co will buy up to 150,000 barrels per day of Russian oil from February for its domestic market-focused refinery, a company executive said on Thursday

** Reliance was the biggest Indian buyer of Russian crude last year

** More than 5.35 million shares change hands by 1:50 p.m. IST vs 30-day avg of 11.9 mln shares

** RELI rated "buy" on avg by 34 analysts covering it; median PT at 1702 rupees - data compiled by LSEG

** In 2025, RELI gained 29%, outpacing benchmark Nifty 50's 10.5% rise

(Reporting by Komal Salecha in Bengaluru)

(([email protected]))

By Nidhi Verma

SOUTH GOA, India, Jan 29 (Reuters) - India's Reliance Industries Ltd RELI.NS, operator of the world's largest refining complex, will buy up to 150,000 barrels per day of Russian oil from February for its domestic market-focused refinery, a company executive said on Thursday.

Reuters earlier this month reported that Reliance was set to receive sanctions-compliant Russian oil in February and March after a one-month pause.

Reliance last received Russian crude in December after securing a one-month U.S. concession that allowed it to wind down dealings with the Russian oil producer Rosneft ROSN.MM beyond a November 21 deadline.

The U.S. imposed sanctions on Rosneft and fellow Russian oil giant Lukoil LKOH.MM in October but non-sanctioned Russian companies and trading intermediaries have continued sales.

Reliance would buy up to 150,000 barrels per day of Russian oil from February from sellers that are not under sanctions, the executive said on the sidelines of India Energy Week, declining to be named in line with his company's policy. He did not name the sellers and Reliance did not immediately respond to a Reuters request seeking comment.

Reliance was previously importing Russian crude under a long-term agreement with Rosneft for 500,000 barrels per day (bpd) for its 1.4 million-bpd Jamnagar refinery complex in Gujarat state.

The conglomerate also buys oil from Saudi Arabia and Iraq, among others, under term deals to meet its requirements at the Jamnagar refinery complex in Gujarat, and also purchases Canadian oil.

Reliance is also seeking U.S. approval to resume purchases of Venezuelan crude, Reuters reported earlier this month, as the private refiner looks to secure supplies with the move away from the biggest Russian oil companies.

(Reporting by Nidhi Verma; writing by Mayank Bhardwaj; editing by Philippa Fletcher)

(([email protected]; Twitter: @MayankBhardwaj9;))

Jan 28 (Reuters) - Oil and Natural Gas Corporation Ltd ONGC.NS:

• ONGC AND RELIANCE SIGN LANDMARK AGREEMENT TO SHARE DEEPWATER RESOURCES ON INDIA’S EAST COAST

• WILL PURSUE SHARING OF KEY RESOURCES REQUIRED FOR OFFSHORE OPERATIONS, WHICH MAY INCLUDE ONSHORE AND OFFSHORE PROCESSING

Source text: ID:nnAZN4S59JH

Further company coverage: ONGC.NS

(([email protected];;))

Adds context on sanctions in paragraphs 6-7, figures in paragraphs 10-12, license details in paragraph 13

By Marianna Parraga and Jarrett Renshaw

HOUSTON/WASHINGTON, Jan 27 (Reuters) - U.S. officials are working to issue a general license soon that would lift some sanctions on Venezuela's energy sector, four sources familiar with the preparation said on Tuesday, a shift from a previous plan to grant individual exemptions to sanctions for companies seeking to do business in the country.

Following the U.S. capture of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro earlier this month, U.S. officials have said Washington would ease sanctions imposed on Venezuela's energy industry to facilitate a $2 billion oil supply deal between Caracas and Washington and an ambitious $100 billion reconstruction plan for the country's oil industry.

Many partners and customers of state oil company PDVSA, including producers Chevron CVX.N, Repsol REP.MC and ENI ENI.MI, refiner Reliance Industries RELI.NS, and some U.S. oil service providers, have applied for individual licenses in recent weeks to expand output or exports from the OPEC member.

The large number of individual requests to the U.S. government has delayed progress on plans to expand exports and get investment moving quickly into the country, two of the sources said.

The U.S. Treasury Department, the White House and Venezuela's oil ministry did not immediately reply to requests for comment.

Venezuela's entire energy industry was designated by the Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control as subject to U.S. sanctions in 2019 after Maduro's first re-election, which Washington did not recognize.

The sanctions have varied over the last seven years, depending on each U.S. administration, being modified through a series of executive orders and licenses exempting some producers and customers from the measures.

Under former U.S. President Joe Biden, a broad license exempted many companies from the sanctions, allowing them to export Venezuela's oil. That facilitated higher crude production and exports until the first quarter of last year, when President Donald Trump began his second term.

Trump's administration revoked the authorization as a way to put pressure on Maduro, and ordered the companies to wind down transactions. In December, he also ordered a blockade of all sanctioned vessels going in or out of the country, reducing Venezuela's oil exports to 500,000 barrels per day that month from 952,000 bpd in November.

Oil exports averaged 850,000 bpd last year, pushed up by higher crude production, according to PDVSA documents and ship tracking data. The state firm is now struggling to reverse output cuts it had to implement in early January after the U.S. blockade led to a massive accumulation of inventories.

U.S. licenses granted to trading houses Vitol and Trafigura this month to supply up to 50 million barrels of Venezuelan oil to the U.S. and other destinations have already allowed the country to drain some 11.3 million barrels of stocks, the data and documents showed. But millions of barrels remain in onshore tanks and vessels.

More licenses are needed to accelerate the pace of exports, promote output increases in oilfields where equipment is available, boost domestic refining and repair deteriorated infrastructure and unstable power supply, which are seen by oil executives as urgent tasks.

The general license in preparation might include privileges for U.S. firms over other foreign participants, one of the sources said, as part of Trump's policy of putting American companies first.

A sweeping reform of Venezuela's main oil law that would also facilitate oil and gas investments, output and exports was approved in an initial vote last week and is expected to receive a final green light from the National Assembly as soon as next week, sources said on Tuesday.

(Reporting by Marianna Parraga, Jarrett Renshaw and Don Durfee; additional reporting by Timothy Gardner and Arathy Somasekhar. Editing by Simon Webb, Nia Williams and Nathan Crooks)

(([email protected]; +1 713 371 7559; Reuters Messaging: @mariannaparraga))

Jan 22 (Reuters) - Reliance Industries Ltd RELI.NS:

• 16 STEP-DOWN SUBSIDIARIES AMALGAMATED WITH RELIANCE NEW ENERGY

Source text: [ID:]

Further company coverage: RELI.NS

(([email protected];))

By Nidhi Verma

NEW DELHI/MOSCOW, Jan 21 (Reuters) - India's Reliance Industries Ltd RELI.NS, operator of the world's largest refining complex, is set to receive sanctions-compliant Russian oil in February and March after a one-month pause, four sources familiar with the matter said.

Reliance last received Russian crude in December after securing a one-month U.S. concession that allowed it to wind down dealings with the sanctioned Russian oil producer Rosneft ROSN.MM beyond a November 21 deadline.

Like other Indian refiners, Reliance will buy Russian oil from non-sanctioned sellers, the sources said, without elaborating on the number of February and March cargoes that the refiner has booked.

It is not clear if the private refinery will continue to buy Russian oil beyond March.

Reliance did not respond to a Reuters email seeking comment.

REFINERS BOOST MIDDLE EAST CRUDE IMPORTS

Despite Reliance's return, India's overall Russian oil imports are expected to stay subdued through February and March, the sources added.

Reliance had been importing Russian crude under a long‑term agreement with Rosneft for 500,000 barrels per day (bpd) for its 1.4 million bpd Jamnagar refinery complex in Gujarat.

The European Union has said from January 21 it will not take fuel produced at refineries that received or processed Russian oil 60 days prior to the bill-of-lading date.

Reliance has said it will process the cargoes that arrived after November 20 at its India-focused 660,000 barrels per day plant, allowing it to continue selling fuels to the EU from its 704,000 bpd export-oriented refinery.

Refiners in India, which became the top buyer of discounted Russian seaborne crude following the 2022 outbreak of war in Ukraine, are recalibrating their crude import strategies, raising Middle Eastern purchases as they shift away from Russia.

"We have faced instances where sanctions were imposed suddenly and we had to cut back," Srinivas T, chief operating officer, refinery and marketing, at Reliance, said last week.

Reliance had ramped up purchases from national oil companies elsewhere ahead of time to avoid spot market disruptions, he said.

(Reporting by Nidhi Verma, reporters in Moscow; Editing by Emelia Sithole-Matarise)

(([email protected]; X: @nidhi712;))

India File is published every Tuesday. Think your friend or colleague should know about us? Forward this newsletter to them. They can also subscribe here.

Jan 20 - By Ira Dugal, Editor Financial News, with global Reuters staff

Reliance Industries RELI.NS has had a rough start to the year, with a rare share-price slide in January and weaker-than-expected earnings, highlighting the pressures building across some of its key businesses.

What is the outlook for the stock of India's most valuable company? That's our focus this week. Write to us at [email protected]

And, India plans to open up the defence sector to larger foreign investment. Scroll down for that Reuters exclusive report.

THIS WEEK IN ASIA

*Japan's snap election and tax pledge keep nation's finances in spotlight

*Indonesia's rupiah hits record low on central bank independence worries

*China curbs ‘flash boys’ access to exchange data, sources say

*As US orders fade, Chinese salespeople face tough grind in new markets

*Dozens missing after massive Karachi mall fire, 21 killed

TESTED BY GEOPOLITICS

Mukesh Ambani’s Reliance, which has a market value of 19.12 trillion rupees ($210.42 billion), has slumped about 10% so far in 2026, a rare early-year drop that has weighed on the benchmark Nifty 50 .NSEI, which is down roughly 2%. The last time the stock dropped more in any January was in 2011.

The fall, including a 3% decline after the company reported weaker-than-expected quarterly earnings, reflects complications in its refining business due to geopolitical tensions, intensifying competition in its retail operations, and investor caution ahead of the planned listing of its telecoms unit.

The company faces "headwinds" from loss of Russian crude in its export-focused refinery and higher freight costs in its core oil-to-chemicals business, Jefferies said in a January 16 note.

But it could potentially resume purchases of Venezuelan oil, defraying the loss of Russian barrels, the brokerage said.

Reliance cut imports of Russian oil by 32.4% in December, the lowest level since February 2024, under pressure from Western sanctions, data analysed by Reuters journalist Nidhi Verma showed. The company's Russian imports are likely to be low in January too. Click here for that story.

The company has said it is in talks with the U.S. to permit purchases of oil from Venezuela.

Despite these challenges, the business continues to report strong financials.

Factors working in its favour include strong volume growth and fuel cracks - the difference between the price of refined products and the crude used to produce them - Mumbai-based brokerage BOB Caps said.

Fuel retailing volumes via the Jio-BP joint venture are also expanding, it added.

RETAIL REVENUE GROWTH LAGS

Where the earnings disappointed most was in the retail business, Reliance Retail, which was dragged down by India's shifting consumer preferences.

Reliance Retail reported a 9% growth in net revenue, lower than the 13% for competitor Avenue Supermarts AVEU.NS, and blamed this partly on a shift in festival dates and a demerger of its consumer products division.

Its margins also declined due to discounts offered in the festival season and investments made in quick commerce.

India's fast-changing consumer market has seen attention shift from traditional stores to online shopping and now quick commerce where deliveries within minutes have sparked opportunity and risks.

The company told analysts this business is already margin- positive as Reliance leverages its extensive store network to deliver electronics, fashion, and groceries, creating a unique omnichannel advantage.

The quick-commerce business, where Zomato, run by Eternal ETEA.NS, Swiggy SWIG.NS and Walmart's WMT.O Flipkart are big players, recently came under fire for promoting 10-minute deliveries that critics have argued put delivery staff at risk.

Read here to catch up on the controversy.

Jefferies analysts also red-flagged Reliance's fast-moving consumer goods business where too many brands may mean it is spreading itself "too thin".

While the retail business seems to be some distance away from a listing, the public offering of the telecoms unit Jio Platforms appears imminent.

The government has given the green light for a minimum float of 2.5% for a public listing, clearing the way for large IPOs including Jio's.

Despite the pressures, analysts still see upside to the Reliance Industries stock in 2026, with only 2 of 34 analysts on LSEG listing it as a sell. The median price target on the stock is 1,700 rupees per share, a 20% upside from current levels.

MARKET MATTERS

A ruling by India's top court in a tax case related to U.S. investment firm Tiger Global's sale of shares in Flipkart to Walmart in 2018 has spooked global investors who have poured $180 billion into India via the tax haven of Mauritius.

Read details of the judgement here and don't miss this analysis on its implications for investors.

The ruling comes at a time when India has seen a sharp drop in portfolio and strategic investments from overseas, a decline that the market regulator is trying to reverse through a series of steps.

THIS WEEK'S MUST-READ

India plans to make it much easier for foreign firms to invest in defence companies, Reuters journalists Nikunj Ohri and Sarita Chaganti Singh reported.

Foreign firms may be permitted to pick up 74% in Indian firms with government approval, and tough conditions related to technology transfers may be lifted.

Read the details here.

($1 = 90.6663 Indian rupees)

(Reporting by Ira Dugal; Editing by Muralikumar Anantharaman)

(([email protected]; +91-9833024892;))

By Siyi Liu and Chen Aizhu

SINGAPORE/MOSCOW, Jan 19 (Reuters) - China is importing the most Russian Urals crude since 2023 at prices lower than Iranian oil after top buyer India cut imports sharply due to Western sanctions and before a European Union ban on products made from Russian oil, according to trade sources and shipping data.

Tougher Western sanctions on Russian oil producers and pressure from the Trump administration pushed Indian refiners to scale back imports in December and seek alternatives. Top importer Reliance Industries RELI.NS, whose refined products are exported to EU, halted Russian oil imports in January.

India's lower demand boosted the supply of cheap Russian crude for China, providing a buffer for the loss of Venezuelan oil at the world's top oil importer after Washington raided the OPEC producer and took over the sale of millions of barrels of Venezuelan oil.

China's Urals crude imports reached 405,000 barrels per day so far this month, the highest level since June 2023, data from analytics firm Kpler showed, with total seaborne imports from Russia close to 1.4 million bpd.

Vortexa data showed that China's seaborne Russian crude imports surged above 1.5 million bpd in December, up from about 1.2 million bpd in the first eleven months of 2025.

INDIA CUTS IMPORTS, EU BAN

In India, December Urals imports fell to 929,000 bpd, the lowest since December 2022, Kpler data showed, versus an average of 1.36 million bpd in 2024 and 1.27 million bpd in 2025.

Urals has lost favour at refineries in India and Turkey that make diesel for export to Europe, two trade sources said, as the EU ban on fuel produced from Russian-origin crude will start on January 21. Refiners supplying Europe must run clean of Russian crude for at least two months before output is eligible for sale.

China, on the other hand, exports little oil products to Europe.

"There's some benefit for Chinese refiners, they'd be able to snap up the Urals if prices are good enough, at a time when Venezuelan shipments to China are falling," said Rajesh Chopra, chief petrochemical analyst with energy consultancy XAnalysts.

CHINA BUYS MORE DISCOUNTED OIL

China's independent refiners in the eastern Shandong province – the main buyers of sanctioned crude – stepped up Russian oil purchases after receiving fresh 2026 import quotas and as prices tumbled.

Shandong Yulong Petrochemical, a mega refinery sanctioned by the UK and the EU, has now fully pivoted to Russian crude.

That has raised Shandong's Russian crude demand by about 250,000 bpd since November, Vortexa analyst Emma Li wrote in a January 13 report.

Yulong did not respond to a request for comment from Reuters.

The three ex-Sinochem refineries in Shandong are expected to buy more Russian crude with their 2026 import quotas instead of buying via Sinochem, trade sources said.

URALS CHEAPER THAN IRANIAN OIL

Discounts for Urals crude for delivery to China in late 2025 were as wide as $12 per barrel to ICE Brent since they were redirected to Shandong from India, said a Chinese trade source, cheaper than Iranian Light which was offered at a discount of $8 per barrel at that time.

That has put pressure on Iranian oil sales, traders and analysts said, with offers for Urals and Iranian Light currently on par at discounts of about $10 a barrel for March-arrival cargoes.

Meanwhile, the discount on Russian ESPO blend, the main grade China imports, was at around $7-8 per barrel, compared with a discount of $5-6 in early December and a premium in September.

(Reporting by Chen Aizhu, Siyi Liu in Singapore and Reuters reporters in Moscow; Editing by Florence Tan and Raju Gopalakrishnan)

(([email protected];))

Jan 16 (Reuters) - Reliance Industries Ltd RELI.NS:

• RELIANCE JIO INFOCOMM Q3 NET PROFIT 71.73 BILLION RUPEES

• RELIANCE JIO INFOCOMM Q3 REVENUE FROM OPERATIONS 327.51 BILLION RUPEES

Source text: [ID:]

Further company coverage: RELI.NS

(([email protected];))

The author is a Reuters Breakingviews columnist. The opinions expressed are her own.

By Shritama Bose

MUMBAI, Jan 15 (Reuters Breakingviews) - China-India ties are beginning to thaw. New Delhi may lift a five-year-old ban on companies from the People's Republic bidding for official contracts to revive commercial ties with its neighbour. That potentially paves the way to further lift curbs on Chinese investments too, but any easing will be capped by both sides.

India is planning to scrap restrictions, imposed after a deadly 2020 border clash, on Chinese bidders in government infrastructure and other projects, Reuters reported on January 8, citing sources. Alongside smoother visa approvals, it signals willingness to reciprocate China's gradual easing of export curbs on rare earth magnets after Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi's visit to China in September.

The urgency to go further is rising. Net foreign direct investment into the country fell in the year to March 2025, though that is starting to pick up. Even so, strained bilateral ties with Washington mean the $4 trillion economy is grappling with a 50% tariff on exports to the United States, its top trading partner.

Moreover, despite border tensions, India's trade deficit with China has doubled over the last five years to $99 billion for the year ended March 2025. Under the current policy of applying extra scrutiny on Chinese-origin investments, the approval rate is just 15%, a person familiar with the matter told Breakingviews, implying a decent pipeline of investments waiting in the wings.

An easy place to start would be in manufacturing. Local smartphone operations from Apple AAPL.O to Xiaomi 1810.HK, for example, rely on mostly low-tech machinery, chips, displays, batteries and other inputs imported from China. Allowing some of those suppliers to set up factories in India makes sense. The same is true for textiles and plastics.

Yet trust issues persist. New Delhi is unlikely to open the floodgates in strategic sectors where it wants to protect its own domestic firms. In solar power, Adani Enterprises ADEL.NS has invested huge sums but remains highly dependent on Chinese panel makers. That might open a door for firms like JinkoSolar JKS.N and Longi Green Energy 601012.SS to establish a toehold in the market.

But in other areas like electric vehicles, India's appetite for Chinese investments will reach its limits. The $120 billion BYD 002594.SZ is hoping to manufacture in India but faces opposition from established groups like Mahindra & Mahindra MAHM.NS and Tata Motors Passenger Vehicles TAMO.NS.

Officials might demand BYD build its marques and batteries from scratch locally, potentially in partnership with an Indian group. That would require a degree of technology transfer that Chinese firms are unlikely to agree to: Bloomberg reported on Monday, citing sources, that Reliance Industries RELI.NS has paused plans to build lithium-ion batteries after it failed to license technology from Xiamen Hithium Energy, which the Indian group denies.

India's courting of Chinese capital only goes so far.

Follow Shritama Bose on LinkedIn and X.

CONTEXT NEWS

India's Ministry of Finance plans to scrap five-year-old restrictions on Chinese firms bidding for government contracts, Reuters reported on January 8, citing two unnamed official sources.

New Delhi is weighing a proposal to exempt offshore investments for holdings of up to 26% in local companies from additional screening requirements introduced in 2020, Mint newspaper reported on January 1, citing two unnamed people familiar with the matter. The exemption will apply as long as the foreign entity exercises no management control and holds no seat on the company’s board, the report added.

(Editing by Robyn Mak; Production by Ujjaini Dutta)

((For previous columns by the author, Reuters customers can click on BOSE/[email protected]))

Updates for morning trade

By Bharath Rajeswaran

Jan 13 (Reuters) - India's stock benchmarks inched lower on Tuesday, as a drop in Reliance Industries and profit-taking in TCS and HCLTech after the IT services firms' quarterly results weighed on sentiment.

The Nifty 50 .NSEI fell 0.1% to 25,766.7, while the Sensex .BSESN shed 0.09% to 83,803.86, as of 10:24 a.m. IST.

Both benchmarks had opened about 0.4% higher.

They rose 0.4% each on Monday after declining for five consecutive sessions, as expectations grew that India-U.S. trade talks could regain momentum after a U.S. envoy said that New Delhi and Washington would discuss trade issues in a call later in the day.

While expectations of progress in trade talks spurred a rally in the last session, "U.S. President Donald Trump's weaponisation of tariffs continues to weigh on markets," said V.K. Vijayakumar, chief investment strategist at Geojit Investments.

Oil prices rose as unrest in Iran fanned fears for supplies, while Trump warned that any country doing business with Iran will be hit by a 25% tariff. O/R

Higher oil prices negatively impact importers of the commodity, such as India. O/R

Reliance Industries RELI.NS fell 1.1%, after rising 0.5% on Monday. The oil-to-telecom conglomerate had lost 7.4% last week after the company said it does not expect any Russian crude oil deliveries.

IT index .NIFTYIT fell 0.4%, dragged by HCLTech HCLT.NS and TCS TCS.NS, which fell 2% and 0.1%, respectively.

HCLTech posted a third-quarter revenue beat but narrowed FY26 growth guidance to 4%–4.5% from 3%–5%, indicating a fourth-quarter sequential decline on product business seasonality, CLSA said.

Nomura sees limited visibility for TCS on growth leadership and flat margins in FY27.

Ten of the 16 major sectors logged losses. The broader small-caps .NIFSMCP100 rose 0.5% and mid-caps .NIFMDCP100 lost 0.2%.

Top private lender HDFC Bank HDBK.NS rose 0.6% after CLSA reiterated its "Outperform" rating, as concerns over moderate deposit growth and the loan-to-deposit ratio are misconceived.

(Reporting by Bharath Rajeswaran and Vivek Kumar M in Bengaluru; Editing by Sumana Nandy and Rashmi Aich)

(([email protected]; +91 9769003463;))

Jan 11 (Reuters) - India's Reliance Industries RELI.NS has paused plans to make lithium-ion battery cells in India after failing to secure Chinese technology, Bloomberg News reported on Sunday.

Reuters could not immediately verify the report.

(Reporting by Chandni Shah in Bengaluru; Editing by Subhranshu Sahu)

(([email protected];))

LONDON, Jan 9 (Reuters) - The West African crude market was heard to be in ample supply on Friday, with at least 40 cargoes looking for buyers, traders said.

* Around 10 Angolan cargoes, 2 cargoes of Congolese Djeno and about 30 Nigerian cargoes are looking for buyers, a trader said.

* Earlier in the week, traders said that slightly higher freight rates could also weigh on differentials.

* There were no updated offers on Friday.

* In the wider market, a Reuters survey showed that Nigeria potentially produced 1.53 million barrels a day in December, a slight rise from the 1.48 million bpd estimated in November.

(Reporting by Seher Dareen in London; Editing by Shailesh Kuber)

(([email protected]))

Jan 8 (Reuters) - Reliance Industries Ltd RELI.NS:

• K-BEAUTY'S MAKEUP BRAND HINCE ARRIVES IN INDIA VIA RELIANCE RETAIL'S TIRA AS PER STATEMENT

Source text: [ID:]

Further company coverage: RELI.NS

(([email protected];))

Recasts lede, add Trumps's confirmation throughout, adds oil market reaction paragraph 11 and detail on value paragraph 14

By Marianna Parraga and Erin Banco

HOUSTON/WASHINGTON, Jan 6 (Reuters) - Caracas and Washington have reached a deal to export up to $2 billion worth of Venezuelan crude to the United States, U.S. President Donald Trump said on Tuesday, a flagship negotiation that would divert supplies from China while helping Venezuela avoid deeper oil production cuts.

The agreement is a strong sign that the Venezuelan government is responding to Trump's demand that they open up to U.S. oil companies or risk more military intervention. Trump has said he wants interim President Delcy Rodriguez to give the U.S. and private companies "total access" to Venezuela's oil industry.

Venezuela has millions of barrels of oil loaded on tankers and in storage tanks that it has been unable to ship due to a blockade on exports imposed by Trump since mid-December.

The blockade was part of rising U.S. pressure on the government of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro that culminated in U.S. forces capturing him this weekend. Top Venezuelan officials have called Maduro's capture a kidnapping and accused the U.S. of trying to steal the country's vast oil reserves.

Venezuela will be "turning over" between 30 and 50 million barrels of "sanctioned oil" to the U.S., Trump said in a social media post.

"This Oil will be sold at its Market Price, and that money will be controlled by me, as President of the United States of America, to ensure it is used to benefit the people of Venezuela and the United States!," he added.

U.S. Energy Secretary Chris Wright is in charge of executing the deal, Trump said, adding that the oil will be taken from ships and sent directly to U.S. ports.

Supplying the trapped crude to the U.S. could initially require reallocating cargoes originally bound for China, two sources had told Reuters earlier on Tuesday. The Asian country has been Venezuela's top buyer in the last decade and especially since the United States imposed sanctions on companies involved in oil trade with Venezuela in 2020.

"Trump wants this to happen early so he can say it is a big win," an oil industry source said.

Venezuelan government officials and PDVSA did not provide comment.

CHEVRON IN CONTROL OF VENEZUELAN OIL FLOWS TO US

U.S. crude prices fell more than 1.5% after Trump's announcement, with the agreement expected to increase the volume of Venezuelan oil exported to the U.S.

That flow of oil is currently controlled entirely by Chevron CVX.N, PDVSA's main joint venture partner, under a U.S. authorization.

Chevron, which has been exporting between 100,000 and 150,000 barrels per day (bpd) of Venezuelan oil to the U.S., is the only company that has been loading and shipping crude without interruption from the South American country in recent weeks under the blockade.

It was not immediately clear if Venezuela would have any access to proceeds from the supply. Sanctions mean PDVSA is excluded from the global financial system, its bank accounts are frozen and it is blocked from executing transactions in U.S. dollars.

Venezuela has been selling its flagship crude grade, Merey, at around $22 per barrel below Brent for delivery at Venezuelan ports, giving a value for the deal at up to $1.9 billion.

Rodriguez, sworn in as interim president on Monday, is herself under U.S. sanctions imposed in 2018 for undermining democracy.

TALKS INVOLVE POSSIBLE AUCTIONS WITH US BUYERS

Venezuelan and U.S. officials this week discussed possible sales mechanisms, including auctions to allow interested U.S. buyers to bid for cargoes, and issuing U.S. licenses to PDVSA's business partners that could lead to supply contracts, two sources told Reuters.

Those licenses have in the past allowed PDVSA's joint venture partners and customers, including Chevron, India's Reliance RELI.NS, China National Petroleum Corporation (CNPC) and European Eni ENI.MI and Repsol REP.MC, to have access to Venezuelan oil to refine or to resell to third parties.

This week, some of those companies have begun making preparations for receiving Venezuelan cargoes again, two separate sources said.

The U.S. and Venezuela have also discussed if Venezuelan oil can be used in the U.S. Strategic Petroleum Reserve in the future, one of the sources said. Trump did not refer to this possibility.

INCREASED OIL FLOWS WOULD BE 'GREAT NEWS'

U.S. Interior Secretary Doug Burgum said on Tuesday that an increased flow of Venezuelan heavy oil to the U.S. Gulf would be "great news" for job security, future gasoline prices in the U.S. and for Venezuela.

"Venezuela has an opportunity now to actually have capital come in and rebuild their economy and take advantage," he told Fox News, when asked about talks between the governments on oil exports. "With American technology, American partnership, Venezuela can be transformed."

U.S. refineries on the Gulf Coast can process Venezuela's heavy crude grades and were importing some 500,000 barrels per day (bpd) before Washington first imposed energy sanctions on Venezuela.

PDVSA has already had to cut production due to the embargo, because it is running out of storage for the oil. Without a way to export oil soon, it would have to cut production more, one of the sources said.

Oil traders reacted to news of the deal talks on Tuesday. Differentials for some heavy oil grades in the U.S. Gulf slipped around 50 cents per barrel on Tuesday on the prospect of more Venezuelan supplies.

(Reporting by Marianna Parraga, Erin Branco, Jonathan Saul, Jarret Renshaw and Arathy Somasekhar; additional reporting by Bhargav Acharya. Editing by Simon Webb, Anna Driver and Lincoln Feast.)

(([email protected]; +1 713 371 7559; Reuters Messaging: @mariannaparraga))

LONDON, Jan 6 (Reuters) - Urals and Caspian crude oil differentials were little changed on Tuesday, as public holidays in the region for New Year and orthodox Christmas continued.

• The Caspian Pipeline Consortium (CPC) terminal near the Russian Black Sea port of Novorossiysk resumed crude loading on Monday after several days of weather-related disruption that also prolonged maintenance work, two industry sources told Reuters on Tuesday.

• Talks on trading CPC Blend crude have stalled because of the loading delays, three traders told Reuters this week.

• CPC Blend loading disruptions could have prompted some refiners to seek alternate grades including U.S. WTI or Libyan Es Sider, one trader said on Tuesday. Azeri BTC crude could be too expensive to substitute for CPC, the trade source added.

PLATTS WINDOW

• No bids or offers were reported to Reuters from the Platts Window on Tuesday for Urals, Azeri BTC and CPC Blend.

NEWS

• Ukrainian forces struck an oil depot in Russia's Lipetsk region as well as a missile and ammunition arsenal in the Kostroma region in long-range drone attacks, an official from Kyiv's SBU security service said on Tuesday.

• Reliance Industries said on Tuesday it is not expecting any Russian crude oil deliveries in January, a move that could sharply cut India's Russian oil imports during the month to the lowest in years.

(Reporting by Robert Harvey; Editing by Leroy Leo)

(([email protected]))

Jan 5 (Reuters) - Trishakti Industries Ltd TELI.BO:

• TRISHAKTI INDUSTRIES LTD - GETS CONTRACT VALUED UPWARDS OF 14 MILLION RUPEES

Source text: ID:nBSE6PgFyl

Further company coverage: TELI.BO

(Reporting by Abhirami G from Bengaluru)

(([email protected];))

Updates for morning trade

By Bharath Rajeswaran and Vivek Kumar M

Jan 1 (Reuters) - India's equity benchmarks were muted on Thursday in the first trading session of 2026, as gains in heavyweights Reliance Industries and Mahindra & Mahindra countered a decline in ITC following the announcement of a new tax on cigarettes.

The Nifty 50 index .NSEI rose 0.03% to 26,136.8, while the BSE Sensex index .BSESN gained 0.02% to 85,239.28, as of 10:20 a.m. IST. Eight of the 16 major sectors rose.

Reliance Industries RELI.NS, the second heaviest stock on the benchmarks, added 1%, starting the New Year on a positive note. Shares of the conglomerate jumped 29% in 2025, its best year in five, on strength in retail and telecom segments and steady profitability in the oil-to-chemicals segment.

The auto index .NIFTYAUTO rose 0.4% as monthly sales data for December trickled in.

Mahindra & Mahindra MAHM.NS gained 1% after posting a rise in December auto sales. Tractor maker Escorts Kubota ESCO.NS and bus maker SML Mahindra SMLM.NS climbed 1.6% and 4.7%, respectively, on robust sales.

On the other hand, cigarette makers ITC ITC.NS and Godfrey Phillips GDFR.NS fell 5.8% and 10%, respectively, after the government imposed excise duty on cigarettes from February.

ITC dragged the fast-moving consumer goods index .NIFTYFMCG 2.2% lower.

"Benchmarks are expected to remain sideways with selective buying amid thin trading volumes due to New Year holidays across global markets," said Siddhartha Khemka, head of research of wealth management at Motilal Oswal Financial Services.

Quarterly earnings, India-U.S. trade negotiations and the union budget will decide the near-term market trajectory, Khemka said.

India's broader small-caps .NIFSMCP100 and mid-caps .NIFMDCP100 lost 0.5% and 0.2%, respectively.

Among other stocks, Piccadily Agro PICA.NS climbed 12% after the sugar company started commercial production at its Chhattisgarh unit.

Blue Dart BLDT.NS advanced 5.3% after the goods and services tax authority dropped a 4.21 billion rupees tax demand.

(Reporting by Vivek Kumar M and Bharath Rajeswaran; Editing by Subhranshu Sahu and Mrigank Dhaniwala)

(([email protected];))

Dec 29 (Reuters) - Reliance Industries Ltd RELI.NS:

• RELIANCE INDUSTRIES - REPORT ON "INDIA CLAIMS $30 BILLION FROM RELIANCE INDUSTRIES, BP FOR UNDERPRODUCTION FROM GAS FIELD” ARE FACTUALLY INCORRECT

• RELIANCE INDUSTRIES SAYS THERE IS NO CLAIM OF $30 BILLION AGAINST RELIANCE, BP

• RELIANCE SAYS MATTER REFERRED TO IN REUTERS REPORT IS ENTIRELY SUBJUDICE AND WOULD BE DETERMINED IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE LAWS OF THE COUNTRY

Source text: [ID:]

Further company coverage: RELI.NS

(([email protected];))

The views expressed here are those of the author, the founder and CEO of Emmer Capital Partners Ltd

By Manishi Raychaudhuri

HONG KONG, Dec 23 (Reuters) - India's flagship equity indices, Sensex .BSESN and Nifty 50 .NSEI, are near all-time highs, despite underperforming many Asian peers. Yet this exuberance hides another reality: many stocks are trading near their 52-week lows. These beaten-down names may offer investors some attractive year-end bargains.

While Indian equities are up some 9.5% for the year as a whole, this rally is concentrated in a relatively small group of firms.

When looking at the shares of 828 Indian companies with more than $500 million in market value, stocks of 109 were within 5% of their 52‑week lows and another 139 were only slightly above this level, as of December 5. In combination, these two categories of flagging stocks are roughly double the number of large Indian stocks trading close to 52‑week highs.

It's easy to assume these stocks are cheap for a reason, but, in many cases, their fundamentals tell a different story. For many of these laggards, earnings growth forecasts are robust, their balance sheets are healthy, and their valuations remain reasonable.

In fact, 14 of the 109 beaten‑down stocks clear a high bar, with expected earnings per share growth of more than 10% through 2027, low net debt, and price‑to‑earnings ratios at or below their forecast growth, according to the FactSet consensus.

Many are well‑known, liquid stocks, including four companies worth over $1 billion: Inox Wind INWN.NS, the telecommunications firm HFCL HFCL.NS, Tata Chemicals TTCH.NS, and logistics heavyweight Blue Dart BLDT.NS. All have strong projected earnings growth, with Blue Dart's forecast coming in the lowest at a still strong 28%.

WHAT SANK THEM?

Their declines are not driven by any sector-specific issue, so why have they lagged?

Mostly because of idiosyncratic factors and investors' narrow focus on the artificial intelligence theme.

Inox Wind started the year looking expensive with a PE ratio of 29.6, and its July share issuance, priced below the market, raised concerns about dilution for minority shareholders.

Valuation was also a concern for Blue Dart at the beginning of 2025, as it was trading at a lofty 41 times earnings. Sentiment then worsened sharply after the government issued a demand for additional taxes on one of its subsidiaries in September.

Meanwhile, Tata Chemicals suffered due to a drop in the price of soda ash - its key product - and a production outage at its plant in the U.S.

Finally, HFCL has disappointed investors, as it started out the year with a high P/E ratio of 36.4 only to see revenue fall 24% in the first nine months. On top of this, its owners borrowed money using more than half of their shares as security, raising concerns that lenders might sell those shares if the price fell further.

None of these issues are insurmountable, but in a year when India fell out of favour with many foreign investors, even small concerns had a disproportionately large impact on stock prices.

YEAR-END BARGAIN-HUNTING

Another key issue weighing on many Indian equities this year has been the omnipresence of the artificial intelligence theme, which has dominated investor attention to the detriment of other themes and stocks. Markets often misprice stocks during these dramatic single‑theme phases, enabling “weaker” shares to eventually outperform, if the underlying fundamentals are strong.

This recently occurred in India as many solid companies that were heavily sold off in 2024 came to be stellar performers in 2025.

At the end of 2024, 98 stocks were trading at or near their 52‑week lows. Of these, 18 were "quality" companies, with strong earnings growth forecasts, solid balance sheets and reasonable growth‑adjusted valuations. Fifteen – nine of which had market capitalisations above $5 billion – have gone on to beat the Indian market’s 9.5% return this year through December 22.

Again, these companies had strong earnings forecasts, and their P/E ratios, with the exception of Reliance Industries’ RELI.NS, were at or below their expected growth rates. In hindsight, therefore, their impressive performance in 2025 was unsurprising.

Of course, this pattern may not play out again this year, especially given India’s still-elevated trade tensions with the U.S. Moreover, good investment options do become harder to come by in markets that have rallied sharply.

But, in reality, even in a strong market, one can often identify high‑quality stocks whose prices have been left behind. It’s just a matter of searching hard, and in the right places.

(The views expressed here are those of Manishi Raychaudhuri, the founder and CEO of Emmer Capital Partners Ltd and the former head of Asia-Pacific Equity Research at BNP Paribas Securities.)

Enjoying this column? Check out Reuters Open Interest (ROI), your essential new source for global financial commentary. ROI delivers thought-provoking, data-driven analysis of everything from swap rates to soybeans. Markets are moving faster than ever. ROI can help you keep up. Follow ROI on LinkedIn, and X.

​

(Writing by Manishi Raychaudhuri
Editing by Marguerita Choy)

(([email protected]))

** Shares of Reliance Industries RLCH.NS rise 1.8% to 1,572 rupees, their highest level since December 1

** Stock hits its biggest intraday percentage gain since November 26

** Reliance Consumer Products, FMCG arm of Reliance Industries, acquires a majority stake in Udhaiyams Agro Foods, owner of Tamil Nadu's heritage nutrition brand Udhaiyam

** RELI rated "buy" by 34 analysts on average; median target price is 1,685 rupees, according to data compiled by LSEG

** Stock up 29.3% YTD

(Reporting by Rudra Pratap Singh in Bengaluru)

(([email protected]))

Dec 18 (Reuters) - Reliance Industries Ltd RELI.NS:

• RELIANCE CONSUMER PRODUCTS ACQUIRES TAMIL NADU’S HERITAGE NUTRITION BRAND ‘UDHAIYAM’

Source text: [ID:]

Further company coverage: RELI.NS

(([email protected];))

The author is a Reuters Breakingviews columnist. The opinions expressed are her own.

By Shritama Bose

MUMBAI, Dec 9 (Reuters Breakingviews) - India’s trade frictions with Washington are rippling through the rupee INR=IN. Its sharp 3% decline against the U.S. dollar USD= since late October, when the United States slapped fresh sanctions on two Russian oil producers, equals the currency's entire loss of value in 2024. Overall it has fallen more than 5% against the greenback this year, making it Asia’s worst performer. It's a sobering reality check for New Delhi.

A steady rupee was one of the defining features of India’s moment on the global stage in recent years. It underpinned macro stability, and lured fund managers to redirect capital to the world’s fifth-largest economy as sentiment toward China cooled. That's all changed after U.S. President Donald Trump pushed tariffs on U.S. imports from India up to 50% - including an additional 25% levy to pressure New Delhi to cut oil purchases from Russia.

Now the South Asian country's goods exports are shrinking and it logged a record trade deficit of $41.7 billion in October. Indian refiners, including Reliance Industries RELI.NS, are also weaning themselves off cheap crude from Moscow, and the higher cost of energy imports will eventually show up on the country’s external balance of payments.

True, India’s economy is stronger than in 2013, when fears of the U.S. Federal Reserve's winding down of asset purchases triggered an exodus of foreign money. Both its current account deficit and the central government's fiscal deficit have narrowed, and the Reserve Bank of India now sits on $686 billion of foreign exchange reserves - enough to cover more than 11 months of imports, up from about six months in 2013. But India's fortunes are a sharp contrast to China's, whose trade surplus just topped $1 trillion for the first time despite punitive U.S. tariffs.

U.S. trade representatives are set to visit India this week, but until a favourable deal materialises and the rupee stabilises, global investors accustomed to the currency's steady moves will hesitate to deploy fresh capital.

For now, India is serving more as a fundraising hub: foreign institutional investors have offloaded nearly $30 billion of Indian equities since September 2024 -- the second-largest absolute outflow in two decades, according to Goldman Sachs. For a country eager to attract inflows, the stakes in its standoff with Washington are rising fast.

Follow Shritama Bose on LinkedIn and X.

CONTEXT NEWS

The Indian rupee closed at 89.98 per U.S. dollar on December 5 after hitting an all-time low of 90.42 the prior week. The Reserve Bank of India will tolerate a weaker rupee as the country's external sector confronts a wider trade gap and stalling of dollar inflows, Reuters reported on December 4, citing three sources familiar with the central bank's thinking.

(Editing by Una Galani; Production by Aditya Srivastav)

((For previous columns by the author, Reuters customers can click on BOSE/[email protected]))

By Munsif Vengattil and Aditya Kalra

BENGALURU, Dec 8 (Reuters) - Amnesty International has said India's review of a telecom industry proposal to mandate always-on satellite location tracking on phones for better lawful surveillance was "deeply concerning" and puts data of human rights defenders at risk.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi's government has long pushed telecoms companies to give more precise locations of individuals under investigation.

The telecoms operators say the best way to achieve this would be for the government to order smartphone manufacturers to permanently enable location tracking on phones. Reuters reported on Friday that the government is reviewing that proposal.

The discussions are being privately opposed by big smartphone firms Apple AAPL.O, Google GOOGL.O and Samsung 005930.KS, due to privacy and security concerns.

In a statement to Reuters, Amnesty International said location data can be "incredibly revealing" and can expose personal and professional connections, such as the confidential sources who meet journalists or human rights groups.

"This is deeply concerning. At a time where surveillance scandals are a mushrooming global threat, states should be working on improving their practices and safeguards, not forcing people to reveal yet more sensitive data," Amnesty said.

India's IT and home ministries, which are reviewing the plan, did not immediately respond to requests for comment on Monday about the backlash.

Amnesty has in the past denounced India's surveillance practices including alleged use of Pegasus spyware to target journalists and activists -- allegations Modi's government has repeatedly denied.

A fierce privacy debate erupted in India last week after Reuters first reported another confidential directive from the government to preload a state-run cyber safety app on all smartphones. India was forced to revoke the order following outcry from activists and politicians over fears of snooping.

"Why are we out to convert India into a 'Surveillance State'?" Senior Congress leader Randeep Singh Surjewala said on X, criticising the proposal to track phone locations.

A large number of Indian users on X joined Surjewala and other privacy activists to condemn the plan, with one user framing it as turning phones into "digital ankle monitors".

(Reporting by Munsif Vengattil and Aditya Kalra
Editing by Peter Graff)

(([email protected];))