What Asia’s richest man considers his life’s “most challenging” mission has left the stock market unconvinced, nervous — or both. In June 2021, Mukesh Ambani committed $10 billion to clean power and fuel. After India made a surprisingly bold pledge in December that year to switch to non-fossil-fuel sources for half of its energy needs by the end of the decade, the tycoon upped his green wager sevenfold. Yet, shares in his flagship Reliance Industries Ltd. are currently valued at 24 times profit, sharply lower than the price-to-earnings multiple of 37 in 2020. Back then, Ambani was raising billions of dollars from Facebook Inc., Alphabet Inc. and Silver Lake Partners for his digital and retail ventures, making his balance-sheet shockproof against Covid-19.
