Jio Platforms IPO lures investors as bids surge on final day

Subscriptions for the Jio Platforms IPO surged on the final day of bidding Friday, as investors bet on the AI promise of India's largest telecom operator.

Investors subscribed more than seven times the shares allotted to them in the Jio IPO. Assuming bids were largely placed at the top end of the ₹1,065-1,119 price band, the total demand has now exceeded $15 billion. That's on top of the so-called anchor investors like the Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, BlackRock and Fidelity that bid for their exclusively reserved quota on Monday. Their reserved $854 million shares received bids of over $25 billion.

The Jio Platforms IPO, India's largest ever, is being closely watched as a test of investor appetite for large listings at a time when AI-linked stocks are facing increased scrutiny. The company, whose mobile network serves more than 500 million users, is launching its IPO during the auspicious Hindu festive season.

Jio Platforms IPO Subscription Status

The IPO values Jio Platforms at up to $108.3 billion, potentially making it one of India's biggest companies by market capitalisation when trading starts ​on 28 October. It counts Meta Platforms and Alphabet's Google among its investors, and is led by Ambani's eldest son, Akash Ambani.

The IPO got off to a rare start on Wednesday when it was fully subscribed within the first couple of hours. That contrasts with most Indian IPOs, where the books typically build gradually and institutional investors often wait until the final hours to place bids.

Jio is part of Ambani's Reliance Industries Ltd., a company often seen by Indian investors as a long-term wealth generator. Reliance shares have returned around 900% since 2006, beating the benchmark Nifty 50 index's 685% return, LSEG data shows.