MAM
Carat bags Rs 4b business from Advertising Agencies Guild
| MUMBAI: India’s first media independent agency Carat, part of the Rs 450 billion Aegis group, claims to have bagged business worth Rs 4 billion through the AAG (Advertising Agencies Guild).
This is the world’s first such initiative taken by a consortium of agencies by virtue of which the agencies can capitalise on their combined resources to offer clients “world class media planning and buying”.
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AAG, formed in 2002, is an association consisting of mid-evel advertising agencies based in Delhi. It has 29 members with a combined media billing in excess of Rs 4 billion. Members of the Guild include names such as Adknack Advertising, Akshara Advertising, Arihant Advertising, Arms Communications, Bharat Marketing and Advertising, Capital Advertising, Censor Advertising, Centum Advertising and Marketing, Chiranjan Advertising, Crayons Advertising, Crescent Communications, Critique Communication, Foresight Marketing and Communications, Fusion Advertising Service, Glaze Ads, Graphisads, Hakuhodo Percept, Harmilap Advertising, Headstart Advertising, Indus Union, Inter Network Kommunication, Kaps Advertising, Pamm Advertising and Marketing Quantum Communications, Rashtriya Advertising Span Communications, Themes Communications, Ushak Kaal Communications and Young Advertising, amongst others.
Carat Asia Pacific CEO David Liu was quoted in a release as saying, “This win reconfirms the strengths of a media independent to provide customised, unbiased solutions to clients. It’s an exciting win and ‘first of its kind in the world’.” Carat claims to be a key player in the Indian media market handling business worth over Rs 70 billion.
AAG chairman Kunal Lalani was quoted as saying, “We wanted a world class media specialist company — one which is not aligned to any advertising agency and will understand our needs and provide us with special customised solutions. After series of meetings and deliberations we found a perfect partner for this endeavour in Carat.” Lalani said, “It is only apt that Indian entrepreneurs who otherwise compete with each other in the market, have taken such a bold step to consolidate their services.”
The Carat Asia Pacific network is located in 12 countries including Australia, China, India, Indonesia, Japan, Korea, Malaysia, New Zealand, Philippines, Singapore, Taiwan, and Thailand. After just six years in operation, the network has over 600 media professionals and billings in excess of US $1.9 billion. |
Brands
Trump announces $300bn Texas oil refinery with Reliance, calls it the biggest in US history
First new US refinery in 50 years planned at Brownsville port with Reliance
WASHINGTON: The United States may soon see the first brand-new oil refinery built on its soil in half a century.
Donald Trump announced a proposed $300 billion refinery project in Texas, calling it a landmark moment for American energy production and jobs.
Posting on Truth Social on 10 March, Trump said the facility would be built at the Port of Brownsville and developed by a company called America First Refining, with major investment from India’s Reliance Industries.
The announcement frames the project as a centrepiece of the administration’s push for “energy dominance”, with Trump claiming it would deliver thousands of jobs and billions of dollars in economic activity to South Texas.
If realised, the plant would mark the first all-new major refinery constructed in the United States since the 1970s. In recent decades, oil companies have largely chosen to expand existing facilities rather than build new ones, citing high costs, regulatory hurdles and environmental scrutiny.
Trump described the proposed investment as the “biggest in US history”, positioning it as proof that policy changes such as streamlined permits and lower taxes are drawing large-scale energy investments back into the country.
The refinery is planned for the Port of Brownsville, a strategic Gulf Coast location that provides easy access to shipping routes and export markets.
A key partner in the project is Reliance Industries, controlled by billionaire industrialist Mukesh Ambani. The company already runs the world’s largest refining complex in Jamnagar, India, making it one of the most experienced operators in large-scale petroleum processing.
The Texas venture would mark a significant step for the group into America’s domestic refining sector, potentially strengthening industrial ties between the US and India.
The proposed refinery is being promoted as a next-generation facility capable of processing American shale oil while maintaining high environmental standards. Trump said it would be “the cleanest refinery in the world”, although the specific technologies behind that claim have not yet been detailed.
Industry observers also note that the $300 billion figure is unusually large for a refinery project, and analysts are waiting for more clarity on whether the number reflects total construction costs, long-term infrastructure investment, or broader economic impact estimates.
As of 11 March, Reliance Industries had not publicly confirmed the investment size or the structure of its involvement.
For now, the announcement has sparked equal parts excitement and curiosity in energy markets. If the plan moves from promise to pouring concrete, the refinery could reshape the Gulf Coast energy landscape, and reopen a chapter in American refining that has been quiet for nearly fifty years.
