Jio Platforms made a strong stock market debut, listing at a 21.36 per cent premium to its issue price and becoming India’s second most valuable listed company after Reliance Industries.
The Mukesh Ambani-led firm’s shares opened at Rs 1,358 on the BSE and NSE, valuing it at Rs 12.5 lakh crore (£98.35 billion) and overtaking rival Bharti Airtel. The stock later touched Rs 1,374.50 (£10.81).
Jio’s Rs 30,200-crore (£2.38 billion) IPO was subscribed 22.19 times, with bids for 438.26 crore shares against Rs 19.75 crore (£1.55 million) on offer. Total demand, including anchor investors, reached Rs 7.4 lakh crore (£58.22 billion). The issue drew over one crore individual investor applications, a global first, despite subdued market sentiment.
Qualified institutional buyers subscribed 70.55 times their quota, non-institutional investors 14 times, and retail, employee and shareholder portions 2.72, 2.93 and 7.63 times, respectively.
Motilal Oswal Financial Services initiated coverage with a ‘Buy’ rating and a Rs 1,350 (£10.62) target, citing growth prospects in wireless, broadband and digital services. It said Jio could command a premium over Bharti Airtel’s India business, backed by its market leadership and limited free float.
