It is reported that Kenya’s government is in talks with Reliance Industries Ltd, India’s biggest company by market value and the TATA Group for possible investments in the African country.

Mr Raila Odinga Prime Minister of Kenya said that “Reliance and TATA groups are interested. We see a new group of Indian multinationals taking interest not only in Kenya, but the rest of Africa.”

Billionaire Mukesh Ambani’s Reliance has USD 6.5 billion in cash to use in buying energy assets overseas as natural gas output from its biggest deposit in India stagnates. TATA Group chairman Mr Ratan Tata has made 66 acquisitions in two decades. The group’s revenue was more than USD 67 billion in the year ended March.

Mr Odinga said that Reliance is looking at investing in oil exploration in Kenya.

Kenya has four sedimentary basins that have been divided into 38 exploration blocks. About 24 of the blocks are being explored.

Reliance, owner of the world’s biggest refining complex, bought fuel retailer Gulf Africa Petroleum Corp to enter the African market in September 2007. Gulf Africa Petroleum retails fuel in Tanzania, Uganda and Kenya. It owns storage tanks and depots in east and central Africa, Reliance said at the time.

The TATA Group’s businesses in Africa include automobiles, phone services and a hotel.

(Sourced from Bloomberg)