Reliance Industries Chairman Mukesh Ambani’s telecom and digital services arm, Jio Platforms, is set to make its stock market debut in Mumbai on Wednesday after its $3.2 billion initial public offering (IPO) attracted bids worth $77 billion, making it India’s most-subscribed offering, according to the supplied report.
Valued at up to $108.3 billion, Jio Platforms serves more than 530 million customers and could become one of India’s largest companies by market capitalisation following its listing.
Backed by Meta and Alphabet’s Google, the company has emerged as a key part of Ambani’s strategy to transform Reliance Industries from an oil-and-chemicals conglomerate into a diversified business spanning consumer services and technology.
Akash Ambani, Mukesh Ambani’s eldest son and managing director of Jio Platforms, is expected to attend the listing ceremony, an industry source familiar with the matter said.
BUSY IPO MARKET
Ahead of the listing, the premium for Jio shares in the grey market – an unregulated market that allows investors to trade in unlisted shares – indicates gains of about 22%.
India has become the world’s busiest IPO market this year by number of deals, with 246 listings so far, but ranks fourth by money raised at $13.5 billion, behind the United States, mainland China and Hong Kong, LSEG data showed.
Several brokerages called the $108.3 billion valuation attractive, with some pointing to potential upside, though they flagged competition, heavy capital spending and changes in India’s telecom rules, including on spectrum, licensing and fees, as risks.
-Reuters
