Thursday 22 August 2013

Plunging Rupee Wipes $5.6bn Off Fortune of India's Richest Man

THE GUARDIAN: Reliance Industries chairman Mukesh Ambani hit by growing sense of panic in emerging markets

India's richest man is down to his last $17.5bn (£11.2bn), after the plunging value of the rupee wiped out a quarter of his fortune, in dollar terms.

Mukesh Ambani, the chairman of Reliance Industries, which operates the world's largest oil refineries, has lost $5.6bn of his personal wealth since 1 May, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires index.

His fortune took a further hit on Thursday, as India's currency hit fresh lows, adding to the sense of panic in emerging markets. Developing economies, excluding China, have seen an outflow of $81bn in emergency reserves since early May, as central banks try to prop up their currencies.

Indonesia has lost 13.6% of its reserves, Turkey 12.7%, Ukraine 10%, according to central bank data compiled by Morgan Stanley. » | Jennifer Rankin | Thursday, August 22, 2013