Jio Platforms Jumps 21% on Stock Market Debut
Mukesh Ambani's telecom and digital unit opened well above its issue price after the largest and most oversubscribed IPO in India's history.
Jio Platforms, the telecom and digital services unit of billionaire Mukesh Ambani, backed by Meta and Google, rose 21% in its stock market debut on Wednesday. It had raised $3.2 billion in what is India's largest and most subscribed IPO.
Shares opened at ₹1,358, about $14, against an issue price of ₹1,119, or around $12. That put Jio's value at roughly ₹12.5 trillion, or $131.9 billion. Only its parent, Reliance Industries, worth about ₹16 trillion ($168.6 billion), is more valuable among Indian listed companies.
A record order book
The offering ran from October 21 to 22. Investors bid for 22.19 times the shares on sale, according to exchange data, and bids totalled more than $77 billion. More than 13.8 million people applied, which made it the most subscribed stock offering on record in India.
The sale consisted entirely of newly issued shares. Meta and Google, which invested $5.7 billion and $4.5 billion in 2020, did not sell. Neither did General Atlantic, Silver Lake or Vista Equity Partners. In 2020 Jio was valued at up to ₹4.91 trillion, about $65 billion at the time.
Jio plans to use up to ₹275 billion, about $2.9 billion, of the proceeds to repay debt at its telecom subsidiary Reliance Jio Infocomm. The rest is meant for general corporate purposes. Total borrowings stood at ₹613.7 billion, around $6.5 billion, on June 30.
Profit and ambitions
In the fiscal year ended March 2026, Jio made a profit of ₹300.5 billion on revenue of ₹1.47 trillion. Both figures were up about 15% on the year. In the June quarter, revenue grew almost 12% and profit rose 9%.
Jio entered the Indian market in 2016 with free data and low-cost services. It took customers from Bharti Airtel, Vodafone Idea and state-owned BSNL and became the country's largest telecom operator. Its prices are now broadly in line with rivals', and it has expanded into broadband, cloud services and AI.
Akash Ambani, Jio's managing director and the eldest son of Mukesh Ambani, said at the listing ceremony that the company's platforms serve more than 540 million customers. He has taken on a larger role at Jio as his father gradually hands more responsibility to the next generation of Reliance's leadership. Akash said he wants Jio to become a global technology company: "My dream is that one day, when the world counts its great technology companies, one of them will be from India, and that company will be called Jio Platforms Limited."
Source: TechCrunch