Reliance Industries

MUMBAI, Sept 16 (Reuters) - Indian billionaire Mukesh Ambani's Reliance Industries RELI.NS accepted bids worth 125 billion rupees ($1.30 billion) for its sale of five-year bonds, three bankers said on Wednesday.

The oil-to-telecom conglomerate will pay an annual coupon of 7.47% and invited bids from investors on Tuesday, they said. The issue would be RIL's first rupee bond offering since November 2023.

The company did not reply to a Reuters email seeking comment.

Here is the list of deals reported so far on September 16:

*Size includes base plus greenshoe for some issues

($1 = 95.9500 Indian rupees)

(Reporting by Khushi Malhotra; Editing by Eileen Soreng)

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By Khushi Malhotra

MUMBAI, Sept 8 (Reuters) - Billionaire Mukesh Ambani's Reliance Industries RELI.NS is set to return to India's rupee bond market after nearly three years, five merchant bankers told Reuters late on Monday, with what would be the largest single-tranche fundraising by a rated firm since November 2023.

The oil-to-telecom conglomerate plans to raise 125 billion rupees ($1.32 billion) through a sale of five-year notes, at an annual coupon of 7.47%, and is set to invite bids from investors in the week ending September 18, according to bankers.

The issue would be RIL's first rupee bond offering since November 2023, when it raised 200 billion rupees in what was the largest local-currency debt sale by an Indian non-financial company.

The bankers requested anonymity as they are not authorised to speak to the media, while the company did not immediately reply to a Reuters email seeking comment outside normal business hours.

A sharp decline in yields on up to five-year bonds locally has made such funding cheaper than dollar debt sales, the bankers added.

The five-year government bond yield has plunged 33 basis points since the start of June, mainly backed by mammoth dollar inflows under the central bank's subsidised schemes.

Flows led by those in the non-resident dollar deposit scheme pulled down local yields, while higher US Treasury rates lifted the cost of dollar funding for Indian borrowers.

Large private banks are acting as arrangers for the deal, and are also set to partly subscribe to these bonds, the bankers added.

Meanwhile, the company is also mulling a 10-year bond issue and is in discussions with bankers and investors.

($1 = 94.4850 Indian rupees)

(Reporting by Khushi Malhotra and Dharamraj Dhutia; Editing by Rashmi Aich)

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** Reliance Industries' RELI.NS shares fall 0.3% to 1,309.2 rupees

** J.P. Morgan lowers PT to 1,625 rupees from 1,660 rupees, representing a 23.8% upside to the stock's last close; maintains "Overweight" rating

** Brokerage says stock has not responded to the continued strength in refining/petchem margins, with the stock largely range-bound since end-May

** Says RELI should have net volume upside in the September quarter and lower fuel retail losses

** "Retail growth should look better in the December-quarter, O2C should do well," - JPM

** Stock trades at forward 12 month PE of 19.70 vs industry median of 8.93 - data compiled by LSEG

** 28 of 29 brokerages rate the stock "buy" or higher; their median PT is 1,690 rupees

** YTD, stock down 16.4%

(Reporting by Abhinav Parmar in Bengaluru)

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Sept 2 (Reuters) - JioStar:

• JIOHOTSTAR LAUNCHES GLOBALLY, TAKING A NEW STREAMING EXPERIENCE TO AUDIENCES ACROSS THE UK, CANADA AND SINGAPORE

• JIOSTAR: INTRODUCES QUARTERLY SUBSCRIPTION PLANS FOR JIOHOTSTAR IN UK, CANADA, SINGAPORE

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Sept 1 (Reuters) - Reliance Industries Ltd RELI.NS:

• AXIS TRUSTEE SERVICES: RELIANCE INDUSTRIES SUFFERED LOSS INCURRED DUE TO DAMAGES UNDER SMD MEGA RISK POLICY DUE TO FLOOD

Source text: [ID:]

Further company coverage: RELI.NS

(([email protected];;))

Reliance Industries' subsidiary Jio Platforms received an observation letter from SEBI on August 28, 2026, regarding its Draft Red Herring Prospectus for a proposed initial public offering. The proposed offering's issue size, valuation, price band and listing date were not provided. Digital Services contributed about 12% of Reliance Industries' consolidated revenue in FY26. Reliance Industries reported consolidated revenue of about ₹11.8 lakh crore for FY26.

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MUMBAI, Aug 27 (Reuters) - India's Jio Credit plans to raise up to 20 billion rupees($209.34 million), including a greenshoe option of 10 billion rupees, through a sale of bonds maturing in three years, three bankers said on Thursday.

It will pay a coupon of 8.08% and has invited commitment bids for the issue on Friday, they said.

The company did not immediately respond to a Reuters email seeking comment.

Here is the list of deals reported so far on August 27:

*Size includes base plus greenshoe for some issues

($1 = 95.5400 Indian rupees)

(Reporting by Khushi Malhotra and Dharamraj Dhutia; Editing by Nivedita Bhattacharjee)

(([email protected], [email protected]))

Updates for market close

By Bharath Rajeswaran and Vivek Kumar M

Aug 26 (Reuters) - Indian shares fell on Wednesday, as losses in information technology stocks and Reliance Industries RELI.NS countered gains in heavyweight financials and optimism from a dip in oil prices.

The decline deepened in the closing auction, with the Nifty 50's indicative close down by as much as 1.4%.

At the close, the Nifty 50 .NSEI was 0.52% lower at 24,207.75 and the BSE Sensex .BSESN 0.24% lower at 77,472.94.

They were marginally down at 0.24% and 0.05%, ahead of the CAS.

Ten of the 16 major sectors fell. IT stocks .NIFTYIT led losses with a 1.5% drop, with analysts attributing the slide to concerns over higher costs from U.S. visa curbs and caution ahead of Nvidia NVDA.O earnings.

The Trump administration on Monday proposed formalising an unprecedented $103,265 fee on new H-1B visas. Nvidia's earnings, later in the day, are likely to test whether AI spending can sustain lofty expectations, which have fuelled AI-linked stocks and left Indian IT shares out of favour.

"Indian IT fortunes continue to be linked to business traction and news-flow of AI companies," said analysts led by Yogesh Aggarwal, head of research, India of HSBC Securities and Capital Markets.

"We expect Indian IT to see the worst impact of AI deflation in FY2027, with backdrop improving from FY2028 onwards."

Oil-to-telecom conglomerate Reliance Industries fell 1.4%, adding to the pressure on benchmark indexes.

While a drop in oil prices LCOc1 below $86 levels is a positive for India's economy and markets, "the inability of the benchmarks to capitalise on the favourable trigger indicates a cautious undertone," said Sudeep Shah, head of technical and derivatives research at SBI Securities.

Heavyweight financials .NIFTYFIN and private banks .NIFPVTBNK climbed between 0.5% and 1.1%. The broader small-caps .NIFSMCP100 added 0.8%, while mid-caps .NIFMDCP100 closed flat.

Investors were likely rotating their positions based on earnings expectations for fiscal 2027, according to analysts.

Among other stocks, Varun Beverages VARB.NS fell 3.8% as analysts flagged execution risks to its foray into the alcohol segment.

(Reporting by Bharath Rajeswaran in Bengaluru; Editing by Rashmi Aich, Ronojoy Mazumdar and Janane Venkatraman)

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Aug 25 (Reuters) - HYUNDAI MOTOR COMPANY 005380.KS:

• HYUNDAI MOTOR INDIA AND JIO-BP JOIN HANDS TO INTEGRATE EV CHARGING NETWORK - STATEMENT

Further company coverage: 005380.KS HYUN.NS

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

• RELIANCE INDUSTRIES - CLARIFIES ON REPORT "SC SLAPS 1 MILLION RUPEES FINE ON RELIANCE INDUSTRIES FOR DELAYING NTPC GAS SUPPLY SUIT"

• RELIANCE INDUSTRIES - NO FINE OR PENALTY LEVIED ON THE COMPANY BY THE SUPREME COURT OF INDIA

Source text: [ID:]

Further company coverage: RELI.NS

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Aug 17 (Reuters) - JioBlackRock Asset Management, a venture between India's Jio Financial Services JIOF.NS and BlackRock BLK.N said on Monday it will offer regular plans for eligible mutual fund schemes, allowing investors to buy them through registered distributors.

The fund house has so far offered only direct plans. Regular plans are sold through mutual fund distributors, whose commissions add to investors' costs.

JioBlackRock and some other digital-focused asset managers had limited sales to direct platforms to keep investor costs lower in India's crowded mutual fund market.

Sid Swaminathan, managing director and chief executive officer of Jio BlackRock Asset Management, had told Reuters in June that the company was adopting distributor-led model, particularly as complex and higher-ticket offerings like special investment funds (SIFs) require advisors.

The joint venture between Mukesh Ambani's Jio Financial Services and the world's largest asset manager has amassed about 180 billion rupees in assets under management in roughly a year since its launch by building a base in cash, debt-index and active equity funds.

Earlier this month Jio Financial Services and BlackRock launched the JioBlackRock Nifty 50 ETF, marking the joint venture's entry into India's fast-growing exchange-traded fund market.

(Reporting by Urvi Dugar and Vivek Kumar M in Bengaluru; Editing by Nivedita Bhattacharjee)

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NEW DELHI, Aug 16 (Reuters) - India has set a maximum daily cooking gas production target of 63,810 metric tons for state-run and private refineries to ensure domestic supplies and build buffers after U.S.-Israeli war against Iran disrupted supplies of the essential fuel, according to an August 13 government order.

Here are more details from the order:

• Companies are required to maintain adequate infrastructure for storing and transporting liquefied petroleum gas (LPG), either directly or through railways and road tankers, to meet specified quantities.

• The federal government will update the targets every January and July to reflect new production and additional output from existing refineries.

• India was buying about 90% of its cooking gas imports from the Middle East before the war on Iran disrupted supplies from March due to the blockade of the Strait of Hormuz.

• India has set production targets for individual refiners with Reliance Industries Ltd's RELI.NS domestic-market-focused refinery tasked to produce 18,000 tons a day of LPG.

• State-run explorers Oil and Natural Gas Corp ONGC.NS and Oil India Ltd OILI.NS, and gas utility Gail India Ltd GAIL.NS are expected to contribute 10% of the nationwide target.

(Reporting by Nikunj Ohri and Nidhi Verma; Editing by Christian Schmollinger)

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Reliance Industries and Rolls-Royce announced a strategic intent to partner on the design, development, manufacture and delivery of an indigenous combat engine for India’s Advanced Medium Combat Aircraft programme. The companies said they would explore a dedicated Aerospace Gas Turbine Complex in India covering power and propulsion technology. Reliance’s activities spanned hydrocarbons, petrochemicals, retail, digital services, media and entertainment, and renewables. It reported consolidated revenue of ₹11,75,919 crore and net profit of ₹95,754 crore for the year ended March 2026.

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Aug 14 (Reuters) - Reliance Industries Ltd RELI.NS:

• RELIANCE INDUSTRIES - RELIANCE INDUSTRIES AND ROLLS-ROYCE ANNOUNCE STRATEGIC INTENT TO PARTNER

• RELIANCE INDUSTRIES - RELIANCE INDUSTRIES AND ROLLS-ROYCE ANNOUNCE STRATEGIC INTENT TO PARTNER AND DEVELOP INDIA''S INDIGENOUS COMBAT ENGINE FOR ADVANCED MEDIUM COMBAT AIRCRAFT (AMCA) PROGRAMME

• RELIANCE INDUSTRIES - RELIANCE AND ROLLS-ROYCE WILL EXPLORE THE FORMATION OF A DEDICATED AEROSPACE GAS TURBINE COMPLEX

• RELIANCE INDUSTRIES - PARTNERSHIP WILL OFFER A PROPOSITION FOR JOINT DEVELOPMENT OF THE AMCA ENGINE IN INDIA

Source text: ID:nBSE2xsKCF

Further company coverage: RELI.NS

(([email protected];;))

** Oil-to-telecom conglomerate Reliance Industries' shares RELI.NS fall as much as 1.64% to a 1,307.20 rupees, a one-week low

** Global index provider MSCI trims RELI's weightage in its key Global Standard index

** Inclusions, exclusions and weightage changes in the MSCI indexes are likely to influence flows in these stocks by exchange-traded funds and other passive investors that replicate MSCI benchmarks

** Reliance Industries RELI.NS is estimated to face outflows of roughly $523 million, according to Nuvama Alternative and Quantitative Research

** RELI shares are down 16.3% in 2026 so far, lagging the 6.8% drop in the Nifty 50 index .NSEI, according to exchange data

(Reporting by Bharath Rajeswaran in Bengaluru)

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By Aditya Kalra

NEW DELHI, Aug 7 (Reuters) - India's food safety regulator will not agree to demands by global beverage companies to extend to one year its 90-day deadline to drop "energy drink" labels, a government source said on Friday, a decision which is set to disrupt the industry.

PepsiCo PEP.O, Red Bull, Monster Beverage MNST.O and billionaire Mukesh Ambani's Reliance RELI.NS have locked horns with Prime Minister Narendra Modi's food regulator amid strict enforcement actions over how alcohol, beverage and food companies label their products.

The Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) in July privately gave the companies 90 days to drop "energy drink", or any similar description, from high-caffeine beverages, saying there were no Indian standards on such products and using that term breached regulations, Reuters has reported.

India's energy drinks retail sales are growing 12.6% annually, faster than in the United States and China, Euromonitor estimates. Retail sales rose nearly 100% annually between 2018 and 2023 and stood at 907 million litres last year - roughly over 3 billion bottles or cans.

The FSSAI will not agree to a deadline extension as many Indian states have conveyed that existing stocks of such drinks can be sold out in 60-90 days, said the government source, who declined to be named as the decision is not public.

The drinks companies have sought at least one year to implement the decision, since they have millions of cans or bottles in the market, or have pending orders for imported cans, according to three industry sources.

"The companies have breached regulations by labelling them energy drinks, they should be happy (India) is not prosecuting them," the government official said.

"They have not told FSSAI how much inventory is lying in which state, which they are supposed to track to ensure traceability," the official added.

The industry sources said tallying stock across states was hard given the huge volumes.

FSSAI, as well Red Bull, Monster and Ambani's Reliance Consumer Products did not respond to Reuters queries. PepsiCo declined comment.

STATE SEIZURES WORRY COMPANIES

Energy drinks have sparked health concerns among some regulators globally who worry they contain high caffeine, sugar and taurine, an amino acid. They will be banned for under-16s in England from April next year.

The beverage giants are also pleading with the Indian government to halt seizures of energy drinks by some state governments, the industry sources added.

Last month, India's Rajasthan state seized thousands of Pepsi's Sting, Reliance's Campa Energy and Red Bull as part of its enforcement drive. In a statement to Reuters, the food safety office of the federally-administered territory of Ladakh said they will be seizing stock.

"Seizure action is an explicit part of the district-level inspection drive already underway," said the office, adding that beverages at retailers and distributors were being checked for labelling.

The market in India boomed after Pepsi launched Sting in 2017, with its 20-rupee ($0.21) plastic bottles proving popular among 15- to 19-year-olds and in rural areas, Euromonitor says.

Industry executives from PepsiCo, Red Bull and Monster took their concerns about energy drinks labelling to Food Processing Minister Chirag Paswan on Tuesday, seeking his support, according to the industry sources.

The ministry is committed to promote "investment, innovation, and job creation" of the sector, Paswan wrote on X without elaborating.

(Reporting by Aditya Kalra; Editing by Raju Gopalakrishnan)

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

** Oil-to-telecom conglomerate Reliance Industries' shares RELI.NS rise as much as 3.53%, on course for the sharpest rise in over five months, to 1,325.2 rupees apiece

** Co's luxury retail arm Reliance Retail partners with Kim Kardhashian's SKIMS to bring shapewear brand to India

** RELI top gainer on Nifty 50 .NSEI, which is flat

** RELI had dropped about 3% over the last two sessions

** About 1.61 million shares change hands in 26 block deals, at a premium of 0.63%-3.14% over last close of 1,280 rupees, data compiled by LSEG shows

** Rise also aided by falling oil prices on prospects of U.S.-Iran peace negotiations

** Lower crude reduces Reliance's input and energy costs, support refining and petrochemical margins

** Shares down 15.8% YTD, lagging the 5.7% drop in Nifty

(Reporting by Bharath Rajeswaran in Bengaluru)

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

Aug 5 (Reuters) - Reliance Brands, the luxury retail arm of Reliance Retail, has partnered with Kim Kardashian's SKIMS to bring the shapewear brand to India, as global companies race to enter the country's burgeoning fashion and beauty markets.

The firm, a unit of Mukesh Ambani-owned Reliance Industries RELI.NS, will operate the SKIMS brand across physical and digital channels, beginning with Delhi and Mumbai, the companies said on Wednesday.

Indian beauty retailers are rushing to bring international brands to the country as Gen Z and millennial consumers, influenced by social media, gravitate to global beauty trends and celebrity-backed brands.

Indian beauty and fashion retailer Nykaa FSNE.NS also teamed up with pop singer Selena Gomez's Rare Beauty this year as well as Shiseido Group-owned NARS Cosmetics.

The SKIMS partnership adds to Reliance Retail's growing foreign brand portfolio including singer Rihanna's Fenty Beauty and Fenty Skin, designer brands such as Stella McCartney, and Italian luxury house Valentino.

SKIMS entry comes at a time when India's shapewear market is seeing robust growth with a mix of homegrown direct-to-consumer brands, including Underneat, and international labels vying for customers.

Founded in 2019, SKIMS has been expanding its global retail footprint with recent store openings in London and Dubai, after raising $225 million in funding that valued the company at $5 billion.

(Reporting by Saikeerthi in Bengaluru; Editing by Sonia Cheema)

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By Ira Dugal

Aug 4 (Reuters) - Corporate India's earnings season has not quite turned out to be the horror show that investors had expected and is instead allaying concerns that the Middle East conflict and higher oil prices will punish stocks.

Coupled with the lucky break that its stock market is currently enjoying by being AWOL on AI, does that mean that India's two-year-long equity underperformance is finally ending? That's our focus this week. Write to me at [email protected].

And, Meta faces questions from the Indian government following recent youth protests. Read this Reuters Insight on what sparked the unrest and scroll down for more on the broader fallout.

THIS WEEK IN ASIA

How a US-Japan pact to hit yen bears came together

China draws 'red lines' around its economic model ahead of EU, US trade talks

Chinese military researchers tap US AI models to train defence systems

Big investors think it might be time to buy in South Korea

BETTER-THAN-FEARED EARNINGS BRING RELIEF

Corporate India has weathered the fallout from the U.S. and Israeli war with Iran better than expected, quarterly earnings suggest, strengthening the case for a rebound in the country's long-underperforming equities market.

While companies ranging from Reliance Industries RELI.NS to Hindustan Unilever HLL.NS and IndiGo airline did face pressure from higher input costs and supply-chain disruptions during the April-June period, earnings across much of corporate India have exceeded expectations.

"The strong first-quarter results and better-than-expected performance in several sectors should provide greater comfort to the market's earnings outlook," brokerage Kotak Institutional Equities said in a July 26 note.

A little over halfway through the reporting season, net profit at Nifty 50 companies has risen 11% from a year earlier and is tracking 3.5% above expectations, Kotak said.

The brokerage expects full-year profit growth of 18% for companies in the index.

Tepid single-digit earnings growth has weighed on sentiment towards Indian equities over the past two years, prompting foreign investors to question the market's rich valuations.

The Nifty 50 index is trading at 19.1 times one-year forward earnings, marginally below its 10-year average.

With profit growth now expected to recover into the mid-teens, fund managers are starting to give India a fresh look, Reuters reporters Nimesh Vora, Bharath Rajeswaran and Jaspreet Kalra said in this analysis.

India is also benefiting from a reversal of the crowded AI trade, helping fuel a rally in battered IT services stocks. Is India the ultimate anti-AI trade? Read this Reuters Open Interest column by Manishi Raychaudhuri.

First-quarter results have been ahead of expectations, although subdued on an absolute basis, Citi analysts said in a note on July 30, adding that Indian equities have outperformed in July.

"Further outperformance from here requires broadening of the AI-trade and sustained improvement in the domestic demand environment," Citi said.

AUTOS, FINANCE SURPRISE POSITIVELY

Auto firms are among those that have surprised positively on strong demand for SUVs and electric vehicles, even though higher commodity prices dented margins.

Mahindra and Mahindra MAHM.NS, which plans to double its EV production capacity over the next five years, reported 23% revenue growth while profits grew slower at 6.8%.

Peer Maruti Suzuki MRTI.NS reported a 29% increase in sales volume, and while profits dropped 10% they were ahead of expectations.

Across financials, the country's largest non-bank lender Bajaj Finance BJFN.NS reported a 24% increase in assets on strong loan demand from small businesses and consumption loans, prompting a near double-digit gain in the stock.

Pressure from the consequences of the Iran war was expectedly most visible across oil retailers. State-owned Indian Oil Corporation IOC.NS, Bharat Petroleum BPCL.NS and Hindustan Petroleum HPCL.NS all reported losses for the first time in 15 quarters.

Earnings reported so far indicate steady top-line growth across sectors, albeit accompanied by persistent margin pressures arising from elevated input costs and geopolitical uncertainties, said Bajaj Broking Prive Research in a note on August 1.

Management commentaries across industries have also pointed to sustained business momentum through July, it said.

MARKET MATTERS

Bloomberg Index Services has, for the second time this year, deferred the inclusion of Indian government securities in its flagship Global Aggregate Index.

Read more on the reason for that here.

In June India had widened the pool of securities eligible for foreign investment without limits and removed taxes on capital gains and interest earned by foreign investors on their bond holdings.

The policy changes had boosted expectations of India's inclusion in the widely tracked index and drawn nearly $7 billion in foreign flows.

INDIAN STUDENT PROTESTS: THE AFTERMATH

• The head of Meta India has been named in a complaint filed over multiple videos posted on the company's Facebook platform that depicted Prime Minister Narendra Modi in an "abusive manner". Meta said it is in touch with authorities to resolve the matter. Read more here.

• A number of cases have been filed against protesters, but the country's top court directed states to release those arrested below 18 years of age.

• Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi said he wanted to forgive students who hurled expletives at him during protests last month rather than punishing them.

(Reporting by Ira Dugal; Editing by Muralikumar Anantharaman)

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Adds tanker re-route in paragraph 8, Gaslog tanker incident in paragraph 11, ADNOC L&S declined to comment in paragraph 14

By Florence Tan

SINGAPORE, Aug 3 (Reuters) - Two tankers laden with Saudi oil crossed the Bab el-Mandeb strait over the weekend, while traffic in the Strait of Hormuz slowed following reports of vessel attacks, shipping data showed on Monday.

The number of commodity vessels that passed through the Bab el-Mandeb strait fell to 18 on Sunday, from 27 on Saturday and 28 on Friday, the Kpler data showed.

The Iran-aligned Houthis declared a maritime embargo against Saudi ‌Arabia on July 20, opening a new front against the U.S. and its allies in the Iran war and expanding attacks on tankers carrying global energy and other supplies to waters beyond the Gulf.

Suezmax tanker Lesvos and Very Large Crude Carrier Desh Vaibhav exited the Red Sea with their Automatic Identification Systems (AIS) transponders switched off, the data showed.

The Malta-flagged Lesvos was carrying about 1 million barrels of Saudi crude and it was not immediately clear where it was headed to.

The Desh Vaibhav, carrying 2 million barrels, is heading to India's Sikka port where Reliance Industries RELI.NS typically receives crude.

Dynacom, the manager for the Lesvos, and the Shipping Corp of India did not respond to requests seeking comments.

Separately, a Panama-flagged tanker carrying Russian naphtha has changed course to sail around Africa instead of going through the Red Sea.

STRAIT OF HORMUZ

At the Strait of Hormuz, a route for a fifth of the world's crude oil and liquefied natural gas before the hostilities, one tanker carrying liquefied petroleum gas loaded in Iran made the crossing on Sunday, Kpler data showed.

Some vessels may have switched off their AIS and cannot immediately be accounted for.

The United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations agency has reported three more tanker attacks since Saturday. Greek shipping firm Gaslog reported an incident on its LNG tanker Gaslog Shanghai on July 31.

The number of commodity vessels passing through Hormuz fell to 10 on Saturday after Friday's tally of 19, the highest since mid-July, the data showed.

In addition to the VLCCs Spain B and Noble, two more VLCCs exited the Hormuz strait while one entered on Friday.

These include the VLCC Kiku, carrying about 1.4 million barrels of Qatari crude, and the VLCC Rotterdam Energy with 2 million barrels of Das crude from the United Arab Emirates aboard. ADNOC Logistics & Services, the owner of Rotterdam Energy, declined to comment.

Apex Shipping, manager of the Kiku, did not respond to a request for comment.

(Reporting by Florence Tan; additional reporting by Emily Chow and Mohi Narayan; Editing by Clarence Fernandez and Sonali Paul)

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By Aditya Kalra

NEW DELHI, July 27 (Reuters) - India has ordered makers of high-caffeine beverages sold as "energy drinks" to stop using that description, rejecting efforts to stall the regulatory intervention in a fast-growing market expected to be worth $1.6 billion by 2028, according to documents and sources.

India's food safety regulator said on social media in early July it had issued notices to companies saying there were no Indian standards for such products and claims that a beverage "vitalizes body and mind" or can "aid in general weakness" were misleading. It gave no further details.

In private, the message from the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) was even tougher: Pepsi PEP.O, Red Bull, Monster Beverage MNST.O, billionaire Mukesh Ambani's Reliance RELI.NS and Hell Energy must drop "energy drink" — or any similar descriptor, according to confidential documents and people familiar with the matter.

The move has triggered a standoff with companies, who fear removing the category label could damage brands built around instant-energy claims and disrupt sales.

At a closed-door meeting with senior industry executives on Friday, FSSAI Chief Executive Rajit Punhani rejected arguments over the business impact, saying companies were free to challenge the decision in court, two people familiar with the discussion said.

FSSAI and Punhani did not respond to Reuters queries. Pepsi declined to comment, while the other companies did not respond. Reuters is first to report the lobbying efforts and India's decision.

An Indian government source said the industry agreed to comply with the labelling change after the Friday discussion, and the FSSAI has given them 90 days to comply.

Energy drinks have sparked health concerns among some regulators globally who worry they contain high caffeine, sugar and taurine, an amino acid. High-caffeine energy drinks will be banned for under-16s in England from April next year, and some regions in Pakistan mandate they be called "stimulant drinks".

INDUSTRY WOES, 'ELECTRIFYING ENERGY' ADS

The energy drinks business is built on instant-energy marketing.

Red Bull's "Gives You Wiiings" slogan is globally famous, while Pepsi promotes its Sting energy drink in Indian ads that show it sends lightning through one's body, giving "electrifying energy".

The Indian Beverage Association, which represents major companies, said it was committed to complying with regulations and engaging constructively with regulators on science-based policy.

But in a confidential July 6 letter to FSSAI, it said public disclosure of preliminary notices could damage reputations, disrupt operations and confuse consumers. It urged a "risk-based enforcement approach".

"Regular stakeholder consultations before implementing significant interpretational changes would facilitate smoother compliance, reduce litigation," the association said, adding a "predictable, consultative and transparent" framework was essential.

'I AM ADDICTED'

India's energy-drinks market boomed after Pepsi launched Sting in 2017. Its 20-rupee ($0.21) plastic bottles proved popular among 15- to 19-year-olds and in rural areas, helping make it a market leader, Euromonitor says.

Retail sales are projected to reach $1.6 billion by 2028, growing 12.6% annually, faster than in the United States and China. Volumes rose nearly 100% annually between 2018 and 2023, Euromonitor says.

"Every time when we feel hungry or go out for a smoke, I buy one drink. It fills my stomach and it gives me strength to work," said Sunny Rajvansi, 24, a bike mechanic in Uttar Pradesh state, who consumes Sting and Reliance's Campa Energy.

"I feel I am addicted to them."

This month, India's Rajasthan state has seized thousands of Sting, Campa Energy and Red Bull as part of its enforcement drive, the government's social media posts show.

On July 8, the state also told e-commerce companies including Amazon AMZN.O, Walmart's Flipkart, Eternal's ETEA.NS Blinkit and Swiggy SWIG.NS Instamart to ensure no product was promoted as an "energy drink", a letter showed.

The e-commerce companies did not respond to Reuters queries.

(Reporting by Aditya Kalra; Editing by Saad Sayeed)

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