Asia’s richest man buys into Oberoi hotels
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Asia’s richest man, billionaire Mukesh Ambani, has entered the luxury hotel field. Oil and gas made Ambani, 53, fabulously wealthy, but now his Reliance Industries has diversified by acquiring a stake in India’s luxury Oberoi hotel chain.
It is Ambani’s seventh investment this year, the Bloomberg news service has reported.
Reliance Industries, which runs the world’s biggest refinery complex, agreed to pay 10.2 billion rupees (US$217 million) for a 14.12% stake in EIH, which runs the Oberoi and Trident hotels.
The chain includes the hotel that was damaged in the November 2008 terror attack on Mumbai, and Oberoi Vanyavilas, voted best hotel in the world in a 2010 readers’ poll by Travel + Leisure magazine.
Ambani has invested more than US$1.2 billion in a broadband company and a cargo carrier as well – and he also wants to build hospitals and universities.
Written by : William Sykes
