Jio Platforms Shares Surge 21% in Record-Breaking Market Debut

OPA WIRE, Oct 28 (OPA) — Shares of Jio Platforms opened at ₹1,358 ($14) on Wednesday, significantly higher than the IPO price of ₹1,119 ($12). The listing values the company at approximately ₹12.5 trillion ($131.9 billion), establishing it as India’s second-most valuable listed entity behind its parent company, Reliance Industries. The offering, which concluded on October 22, was oversubscribed 22.19 times, with more than 13.8 million individual applications recorded.

Managing Director Akash Ambani addressed the listing ceremony, emphasizing the company’s ambition to transition from a domestic telecom leader into a global technology powerhouse. Jio currently serves over 540 million customers, having expanded its operations from mobile connectivity into cloud services, broadband, and artificial intelligence. The company reported a profit of ₹300.5 billion ($3.2 billion) on revenue of ₹1.47 trillion ($15.5 billion) for the fiscal year ending March 2026.

Jio’s market entry in 2016 disrupted the Indian telecom sector through aggressive pricing and free data offerings, eventually displacing established competitors. The company’s growth trajectory has been supported by significant capital injections from international investors, including Meta and Google, who invested during the 2020 pandemic. These early backers did not sell their holdings during the IPO, which consisted entirely of newly issued shares.

Proceeds from the offering are earmarked primarily for debt reduction. Jio intends to allocate up to ₹275 billion ($2.9 billion) to repay liabilities at its subsidiary, Reliance Jio Infocomm. As of June 30, the company held total borrowings of ₹613.7 billion ($6.5 billion). The remaining capital will be directed toward general corporate purposes as the firm continues to scale its digital infrastructure.