Jio Takes 21% Debut Premium After Record $3.2B IPO In India

Shares of Jio Platforms soared 21% in its debut in Mumbai on Wednesday, marking India’s largest-ever initial public offering and the first IPO of Mukesh Ambani’s Reliance Industries in two decades.

The IPO made Jio, whose telecom business serves more than 530 million customers, one of India’s largest companies by market capitalization. Ambani’s digital and telecom unit is backed by Alphabet’s Meta Platforms and Google.

The stock opened at Rs 1,358 per share compared to the offer price of Rs 1,119.

The listing furthers Ambani’s plan to transform Jio parent Reliance Industries from an oil and chemical conglomerate into an “all-in-one company” spanning consumers and technology.

The listing ceremony for Jio was attended by Mukesh Ambani, Akash Ambani, his eldest son who is the CEO of Jio, and his wife Nita Ambani. Ambani’s other children Isha and Anant Ambani also attended.

An emotional Mukesh Ambani was seen in tears as Anant traced the legacy and journey of Reliance and Jio in a speech at the ceremony.

Major Indian newspapers on Wednesday carried front-page ads from Reliance Jio with the words “Thank you, India.”

Pre-IPO premiums for Jio shares on the gray market — an unregulated market that allows investors to trade in unlisted shares — indicated gains of about 22%.

India has become the world’s busiest IPO market in terms of number of deals this year, with 246 listings so far, although it ranked fourth in terms of money raised at $13.5 billion, behind the US, 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 cited competition, high capital expenditures and changes in India’s telecom rules, including those related to spectrum, licenses and fees, as risks.