A battle so intense that it shaped the very foundations of Indian business in the 80s.
This isn’t just another business rivalry. This was war.
And at the center of it? Two of India’s biggest corporate titans—Dhirubhai Ambani and Nusli Wadia.
It All Started With Polyester
Back in the late 70s, India’s polyester market was booming, and whoever controlled it would hold the keys to the textile industry.
Both Dhirubhai Ambani (Reliance) and Nusli Wadia (Bombay Dyeing) saw the opportunity and rushed to secure licenses to build massive polyester plants.
Wadia took the early lead, bagging his license during the Janata Party government’s rule.
But when Congress returned to power, Dhirubhai made his move. With strong political connections, he got his own license approved.
The stage was set. But the war had just begun.
The Defining Choice: PTA vs. DMT
Both giants picked different raw materials to produce polyester.
Ambani went with PTA (Purified Terephthalic Acid), which was more efficient.
Wadia chose DMT (Dimethyl Terephthalate), which was cheaper, giving him pricing power.
It was a crucial decision.
And Ambani knew that to win, he had to break Wadia’s pricing edge.
The Brutal Price War
Ambani didn’t just lower prices. He crashed them.
Polyester was being sold at suicidal prices—way below cost. And he didn’t care.
For years, Reliance operated at losses, allegedly using the stock market to generate enough capital to outlast the storm.
Wadia, though a formidable rival, couldn’t keep up with Ambani’s scale and aggression.
But even after a decade of price wars, Bombay Dyeing was still standing.
Dhirubhai needed a final blow.
The Alleged Political Masterstroke
This is where things get even more intense.
With his deep political influence, Ambani allegedly got the government to slash import duties on PTA—the very raw material he was using.
Suddenly, Reliance’s polyester became much cheaper to produce, while Bombay Dyeing’s DMT-based polyester became uncompetitive.
This move? Checkmate.
Wadia’s Bombay Dyeing was pushed into a much smaller scale, while Reliance went on to dominate not just polyester but the entire Indian corporate landscape.
The Legacy of the Polyester Wars
This wasn’t just about winning.
It was about understanding how business is done in India.
Ambani played by his own rulebook—outsmarting the system, outplaying rivals, and outlasting them.
And whether you admire him or question the ethics, there’s no denying that he changed Indian business forever.
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