Mukesh Ambani, Reliance Industries chairman has beaten Alibaba founder Jack Ma to become thr richest man in Asia on Friday, according to a report by Bloomberg.

As per the report, Ambani's estimated wealth rose to a whooping 44.3 billion dollars on Friday as Reliance Industries Ltd's shares shot up to 1.6 per cent. Alibaba Group founder Ma's wealth stood at 44 billion dollars at close of trade on Thursday in the US.

Reliance doubled its petrochemicals capacity, adding 4 billion dollars to Ambani's fortune in 2018. According to the report, Ambani also announced his plans to leverage his 215 million telecom subscribers to expand his e-commerce offerings.

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On the other hand, Ma lost 1.4 billion dollars in wealth this year.

The shares of RIL rose for the fifth consecutive session on Thursday, and surged to a 52-week high of Rs 1,091 on the BSE, amid aggressive business plan announced in the AGM, ahead of its June quarter earnings.

The company announced aggressive business plan at its annual general meeting (AGM) held last week. The stock has been on an uptrend ever since and has gained 13.05 per cent since July 5.

At the AGM, Mukesh Ambani had unveiled an ultra high-speed fixed line fibre broadband for homes and enterprises across 1,100 cities and announced plans for an e-commerce platform that may rival likes of Amazon.

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(with PTI inputs)