India’s largest share sale draws strong institutional demand as Reliance group returns to public markets after two decades.
Jio Platforms’ $3.2 billion initial public offering was fully subscribed in less than two hours of public bidding on Wednesday, marking a record-breaking start for India’s largest-ever share sale and the first from billionaire Mukesh Ambani’s Reliance group in two decades.
Exchange data showed the issue, valued at up to about $108 billion, attracted heavy demand from institutional investors almost as soon as bidding opened. The portion reserved for qualified institutional buyers was subscribed more than three times early in the session, while overall subscription crossed the full amount of shares on offer within roughly 100 minutes, according to multiple market reports. Retail investor participation was more measured in the initial hours, with individuals applying for a fraction of their reserved quota.
Jio IPO Draws Massive Investor Demand Ahead of Listing:
The offering, priced in a band of 1,065 to 1,119 rupees per share, is open until Friday. Around one-third of the shares are reserved for retail investors, employees and eligible Reliance shareholders. Trading is expected to begin on 28 October.
Strong interest was already evident before the public issue opened. Jio Platforms allotted shares worth approximately $853 million to anchor investors, including global names such as BlackRock, the Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, Fidelity and others. That reserved portion drew bids totalling more than $25 billion, according to reports.
Jio Platforms is home to India’s largest telecommunications company, with more than 500 million subscribers, making it the world’s second-largest telecom operator in a single country after China Mobile. The business, which also spans digital services, cloud and related platforms, has backing from investors including Meta and Alphabet’s Google. Telecom operations account for the bulk of its revenue and profits.
Jio IPO Listing to Boost Reliance’s Market Presence:
The IPO represents Reliance’s first public share sale since 2006. Ambani had previously indicated plans to list the digital business within a few years of its 2016 launch, but the process faced delays. Proceeds from the fresh issue are expected to be used largely to reduce debt at the group’s telecom subsidiary.
Market observers noted that the rapid subscription reflects confidence in India’s digital economy and Jio’s dominant position after it disrupted the telecom sector nearly a decade ago with low-cost data and voice services. At the same time, the more cautious early response from retail investors highlights the careful approach many individual participants take with large offerings.
The listing is set to place Jio among India’s most valuable publicly traded companies and underscores the continued appetite among domestic and international investors for major Indian technology and infrastructure assets.