Billionaire Mukesh Ambani said India can become a “credible alternative” to China for green energy production as he outlined the details of a $10bn investment in renewables that his company made last year.

The chair of Reliance Industries, India’s biggest listed company, said developing this part of the business would help the country become a net exporter of green energy and a world leader in clean energy manufacturing.

Ambani made the comment at the company’s annual general meeting on Monday. It is the first time the second-generation tycoon, known for bringing cheap mobile data to India, has measured his vaulting green energy ambitions against India’s bigger regional economic rival, China, which is a top exporter of cheap renewable energy technology, such as photovoltaic solar panels.