Jio shares surge 21% in market debut after blockbuster India IPO

Jio Platforms, billionaire Mukesh Ambani’s Indian telecom and integer services portion backed by Meta and Google, surged 21% successful its banal marketplace debut connected Wednesday aft raising $3.2 billion successful India’s largest and astir subscribed IPO, which attracted much than $77 cardinal successful capitalist bids.

The shares opened astatine ₹1,358 (about $14) apiece, up from their IPO terms of ₹1,119 (around $12). That valued Jio astatine astir ₹12.5 trillion (around $131.9 billion), making it India’s second-most invaluable listed institution aft its parent, Reliance Industries, which is worthy astir ₹16 trillion (around $168.6 billion). In 2020, erstwhile Meta and Google invested, Jio was valued astatine up to ₹4.91 trillion (about $65 billion astatine the time).

The offering, which ran from October 21 to 22, drew bids for 22.19 times the shares connected sale, according to speech data. More than 13.8 cardinal radical applied. That made it India’s astir subscribed banal offering connected record, reflecting beardown capitalist request for shares successful the country’s largest telecom operator.

In 2016, Jio entered what was past a crowded Indian telecom market, offering escaped information and low-cost services. That helped it rapidly triumph customers from established operators including Bharti Airtel, Vodafone Idea, and state-owned BSNL. It has since go the country’s largest telecom operator. Akash Ambani (pictured above), Jio Platforms’ managing director, said astatine Wednesday’s listing ceremonial that its platforms service much than 540 cardinal customers. Jio’s prices are present broadly successful enactment with those of its rivals’, but its concern has expanded into broadband, cloud services, and AI.

Akash, Mukesh Ambani’s eldest son, has taken connected a larger relation successful Jio arsenic his begetter gradually hands much work to the adjacent procreation of Reliance’s leadership. At the listing ceremony, helium said helium wants Jio to go a planetary exertion company. “My imagination is that 1 day, erstwhile the satellite counts its large exertion companies, 1 of them volition beryllium from India, and that institution volition beryllium called Jio Platforms Limited,” helium said.

Jio made ₹300.5 cardinal (about $3.2 billion) successful nett connected gross of ₹1.47 trillion (around $15.5 billion) successful the fiscal twelvemonth ended March 2026, with some figures up astir 15% from a twelvemonth earlier. In the June quarter, Jio’s gross grew astir 12% and nett roseate 9%.

From the IPO proceeds, Jio plans to usage up to ₹275 cardinal (about $2.9 billion) to repay indebtedness astatine its telecom subsidiary, Reliance Jio Infocomm, with the remainder going toward wide firm purposes. Jio had full borrowings of ₹613.7 cardinal (around $6.5 billion) arsenic of June 30.

Jio drew billions of dollars from American investors during the COVID-19 pandemic successful 2020. Meta, past known arsenic Facebook, invested $5.7 billion, portion Google enactment successful $4.5 billion. General Atlantic, Silver Lake, and Vista Equity Partners were among the different investors that backed the company. None sold shares successful the IPO, which consisted wholly of recently issued shares.