[Congressional Record Volume 148, Number 96 (Tuesday, July 16, 2002)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1273]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                       HONORING DHIRUBHAI AMBANI

                                 ______
                                 

                         HON. GARY L. ACKERMAN

                              of new york

                    in the house of representatives

                         Tuesday, July 16, 2002

  Mr. ACKERMAN. Mr. Speaker, it is with great sadness that I rise to 
mark the passing of one of India's greatest industrialists and 
entrepreneurs, Dhirubhai Ambani, who died on Saturday, July 6, 2002, at 
the age of sixty-nine.
  Dhirubhai Ambani was the ultimate success story. Bom in a rural 
village in Gujurat, he rose from a small trader of textiles and spices 
to head the largest and most profitable industrial concern in India, 
the Reliance Group. Through a series of shrewd. business moves and 
decades of hard work, Dhirubhai Ambani transformed Reliance from a 
minor retail concern into an entity which included the largest and most 
modem refinery in Asia, a petrochemical business of unparalleled 
quality, a five billion dollar satellite and broadband subsidiary, and 
petroleum and refining businesses which set the standard throughout 
South Asia. At the time of his death, Dhirubhai Ambani oversaw an 
economic juggernauht which accounted in almost 3 percent of India's GDP 
and 16 percent of the value of the Bombay Stock Exchange. He was one of 
the wealthiest men in the world, a recognized billionaire by Forbes 
Magazine, and in 2000 he was rightly acknowledged by Business India 
magazine as India's Businessman of the Century.
  Mr. Speaker, although Dhirubhai Ambani became very rich, his wealth 
was never closely held. Unlike many old line Indian companies, 
Dhirubhai Ambani shunned debt financing from banks and instead offered 
shares in Reliance to India's growing middle class. Shares in Reliance 
were eagerly purchased whenever offered. Today there are more than 
three million shareholders, almost all of whom are financially far 
better off as a result of their investment.
  For anyone who may wonder about the ability of capitalism to flourish 
in the Indian economy, despite that country's long dance with 
government intervention and control, one need look no further than the 
story of The Reliance Group and its departed Chairman, Dhirubhai 
Ambani.
  Mr. Speaker, as the Former Chairman of the Congressional Caucus on 
India and Indian Americans and a frequent visitor to India, I had the 
distinct privilege of spending time with Dhirubhai Ambani both at his 
office in South Bombay and his lovely residence. He was a gentleman of 
immediate warmth. A modest man who did not discuss his achievements or 
his generosity towards his employees, his community and his country, 
Dhirubhai Ambani immediately made me feel as through we had been 
friends for a long time.
  Mr. Speaker, I know my colleagues join me in expressing condolences 
to Dhirubhai Ambani's two sons, Mukesh and Anil, who have taken over 
the management of Reliance, as well as his widow, Kokilaben, and his 
two daughters. Although they have suffered a great loss, their loss is 
shared, not only by India's citizens, but by many friends of India in 
the Congress and throughout the United States.

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