Jio Platforms becomes India’s second-most valuable company after blockbuster IPO

Jio Platforms made a strong debut on the Indian stock exchanges on Wednesday, with its shares rising nearly 23 per cent above the issue price of Rs 1,119 and making the Reliance Industries-backed digital services company India’s second most valuable listed firm by market capitalisation.

The shares opened at Rs 1,358 on both the BSE and NSE, a gain of 21.36 per cent over the issue price. On the BSE, the stock subsequently touched a day’s high of Rs 1,375, up 22.87 per cent. On the NSE, it climbed 22.83 per cent to Rs 1,374.50.

At the reported valuation of Rs 12,57,401.07 crore, Jio Platforms moved ahead of Bharti Airtel, HDFC Bank and ICICI Bank in the top five market capitalisation rankings. Its parent, Reliance Industries, remained the country’s most valuable firm, with a market capitalisation of Rs 15.94 lakh crore.

The listing followed Jio Platforms’ Rs 30,213 crore initial public offering (IPO), which received bids for 22.19 times the shares on offer. Total demand across the public issue and anchor investor placement crossed Rs 7.4 lakh crore, while applications approached 1.39 crore.

The IPO comprised an entirely fresh issue of 27 crore shares, priced between Rs 1,065 and Rs 1,119 apiece. Ahead of the public offering, Jio Platforms raised about Rs 8,110 crore from 212 anchor investors on October 19, allotting shares at Rs 1,119 each, the upper end of the price band.

The IPO opened on October 21 and closed on October 23. On the opening day, last week on Wednesday, the issue was fully subscribed within 100 minutes, making it the fastest-subscribed mega public issue in India.

Reliance Industries owns a 66.4 per cent stake in Jio Platforms.

Akash Ambani sets out next phase of growth

As the company prepared to enter the stock market, Jio Platforms managing director Akash Ambani said the listing marked the beginning of its next phase of growth. He pledged to take the company to greater heights, expand access to emerging technologies and build on the digital connectivity it has made affordable for Indians.

Speaking at the listing ceremony at the NSE, the 35-year-old said the company would seek to create long-term value for investors, drawing on the growth achieved by its parent over nearly 50 years.

“We promise to take Jio to greater heights of growth, excellence and reputation in India and the world,” Akash Ambani said.

The ceremony was attended by his parents, Mukesh and Nita Ambani, siblings Isha and Anant, and grandmother Kokilaben.

Akash Ambani said Jio’s ambition was to help build a digital society with Jio Platforms at its core, where connectivity, computing and intelligence work together seamlessly. He also stressed that the next generation of the Ambani family had a responsibility not merely to preserve what it had inherited, but to make Jio bigger, better and more meaningful for India.

In a separate email to employees on Wednesday, he described the stock market debut as the start of a new phase, saying the company’s next decade should focus on helping every Indian realise their potential in the age of artificial intelligence.

“The company’s stock market listing “is not our destination” but “a new beginning,” he said in the message to employees.

He called on Jio to lead the next wave of technological change, extending its work from connectivity and digital services to cloud computing and artificial intelligence.

“From ubiquitous connectivity to digital services, from cloud to artificial intelligence, we must once again lead the next wave of technological transformation – making the world’s most advanced technologies affordable, accessible and meaningful for every Indian,” he wrote.

Akash Ambani credited Reliance chairman Mukesh Ambani’s vision and the group’s approach of dreaming big, thinking long-term and executing with excellence for helping shape the company’s growth.

He said Jio had changed how India connects, communicates, learns and works by making data affordable and bringing millions of people into the digital mainstream.

“We did not simply build a telecom network. We helped build the digital backbone of a new India,” he said.

He thanked employees across functions and geographies, crediting their hard work and belief in the company’s mission for making the listing possible. He urged them to retain the courage to dream, the hunger to innovate, the discipline to execute and the humility to keep learning.

AI, new technologies and space connectivity

The listing also sets the stage for Jio Platforms’ ambitions over the next 10 years, including making newer technologies more widely accessible and democratising space connectivity.

Citing the Reliance philosophy that ‘what is good for India is good for Reliance’, Akash Ambani said the company’s first decade had focused on connecting India, while its next decade must centre on empowering Indians in the age of artificial intelligence.

The company’s stated ambition is to make advanced technology affordable, accessible and meaningful to people across the country, building on the digital connectivity and services it has developed.

“Today, we celebrate what we have accomplished together. Tomorrow, we return to work with even greater ambition, energy and determination,” Ambani said.

(With inputs from agencies)