New Delhi, July 14: Reliance Industries Ltd (RIL) Chairman Mukesh Ambani has surpassed Alibaba Group's Jack Ma to become Asia's richest person. While Ambani was estimated to be worth $44.3 billion on Friday as RIL shares rose 1.6per cent, Ma's wealth stood at $44 billion, according to Bloomberg Billionaires Index.

The petrochemical-to-telecom has added $4 billion this year to Reliance honcho's wealth. The market valuation of Reliance Industries surged past Rs 7 lakh crore mark during Friday morning trade.

Earlier this month, Ambani announced the launch of fixed-line broadband services Jio GigaFiber. "We will extend fiber connectivity to homes, merchants, small and medium enterprises and large enterprises simultaneously across 1,100 cities to offer the most advanced fibre-based broadband connectivity solutions," said Mukesh Ambani while addressing the shareholders at the Reliance Industries' 41st Annual General Meeting.

Ambani also noted that Reliance is India's largest payer of Goods and Services Tax (GST), Excise and Customs Duty, and Income Tax in the private sector. He also announced the launch of Jio Phone 2 which will hit the markets by August 16 this year and will be available at a price of Rs. 2999.

"We are now taking the JioPhone to the next level, with added capabilities and functionalities. Reliance is bringing WhatsApp, Facebook and YouTube to the Jio Phone. We will now extend fiber connectivity to homes, merchants, small and medium enterprises and large enterprises simultaneously across 1,100 cities to offer the most advanced fiber-based broadband connectivity solutions," daughter of Mukesh, Isha Ambani said while addressing the shareholders at the Reliance Industries' 41st Annual General Meeting.

The business magnate was ranked by Forbes as 18th-wealthiest person in the world in January this year. He is the only Indian businessman, on Forbes' list of the world's most powerful people.

The tycoon, who owns the Indian Premier League franchise Mumbai Indians, was named as one of the richest sports owners in the world in 2012 by Forbes. Ambani resides at one of the world's most expensive private residences Antilia Building that value of which is close to $1 billion.

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