Marine Drive was lit up for Reliance IPO: Uday Kotak recalls Dhirubhai Ambani’s market legacy amid Jio IPO

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Uday Kotak says Jio’s landmark IPO reflects Reliance’s public market legacy, digital transformation and next-generation leadership nearly five decades after its first offering/AI Image

“I recollect my memories from when I was 18 years old. One day, I saw all of Marine Drive lit up. I was told this was a promotion for Reliance’s IPO. That was a magic moment for me,” Kotak said at a press conference on Jio’s IPO.

“That had an influence for me, into my career in financial services,” he said.

Kotak said he remained grateful to Reliance Industries founder Dhirubhai Ambani for recognising the importance of going public and creating value for a broader base of investors.

“So I'm grateful to Dhirubhai for the initial importance of going to the public, going for investors, creating value for more investors,” Kotak said.

“And therefore, I reminisce that moment today when we are here for another unique occasion,” he added.

The Jio IPO comes almost 50 years after Reliance first accessed India’s equity markets. Reliance Textile Industries’ IPO in 1977 was oversubscribed seven times and is widely associated with the emergence of the equity investing culture in India. RIL listed its equity shares on the BSE on January 23, 1978.

A new Reliance milestone

Kotak described Jio’s offering as a historic IPO from the Reliance Industries group after nearly two decades. The issue is set to become India’s largest ever, he said.

He also linked the offering to the next phase of leadership at Reliance, pointing to Akash Ambani and Isha Ambani and their role in building new-age digital businesses.

“This historic IPO comes from the RIL group after nearly two decades and will be India’s largest ever,” Kotak said.

“It’s also a testament next generation of leadership, Akash Ambani, and Isha Ambani, who are building new age businesses,” he added, referring to their work in digital services.

Kotak said the businesses being built by the next generation were developing under the supervision of Mukesh Ambani, the group’s chairman and leader.

The Jio story, according to Kotak, also represents the scale of India’s digital transformation over the past decade. “The impact of digital India in making data accessible is amazing,” he said.

Kotak described the shift from what he called a data-scarce country with fewer than one crore 4G customers to a data-abundant nation with 100 crore 4G and 5G customers.

“From a data sparse nation of less than one crore 4G customers to a data abundant nation of a 100 crore 4G and 5G customers. It's all happened in the last 10 years,” Kotak said.

That transformation has translated into Jio’s market position, he added.

“All these are translated to undisputed leadership in the marketplace. In India, both in mobility and home broadband customers and subscribers,” Kotak said.

The issue also marks a transition in the way Reliance’s businesses are represented in India’s capital markets. The group’s earlier public market legacy was built around Reliance’s push to bring retail investors into the equity market. Jio’s offering represents the next stage, centred on telecom, digital services and broadband connectivity.

Kotak further underscored the broader market significance of the transaction, saying that after the listing, Reliance Industries is set to become the country’s largest conglomerate by market capitalisation.