Mukesh Ambani venturing into telecom?

Within days of revoking a non-compete agreement that his group had with his younger brother Anil, RIL Chairman Mukesh Ambani is believed to have held a long-drawn-out discussion with telecom czar Sunil Mittal.

Within days of revoking a non-compete agreement that his group had with his younger brother Anil, RIL Chairman Mukesh Ambani is believed to have held a long-drawn-out discussion with telecom czar Sunil Mittal.

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The meeting took place on the day Mukesh Ambani arrived in Delhi on May 26 to attend the Prime Minister's Council on Trade and Industry meeting. A Reliance Industries spokesperson declined to comment either on the meeting or the discussions held, but a source said CII President Hari S Bhartia was also present.

The two Ambanis, on May 23, decided to scrap a non-compete agreement reached by them in January 2006. But, they decided that Mukesh will keep out of gas-based power plants till 2022. They had also announced that day that they would expeditiously negotiate a gas supply agreement in accordance with the Supreme Court order of May 7. There is speculation that Mukesh Ambani could venture into the telecom sector soon and sources indicated that he could pick up stake in one of the Indian telecom players, particularly those who acquired licences in 2008.