By Vibhuti Sharma and Aditya Kalra
MUMBAI, Oct 28 (Reuters) - Billionaire Mukesh Ambani's telecom-to-digital firm Reliance Jio Platforms soared 25% in its Mumbai debut on Wednesday, making it India's second-largest company by market capitalisation after a record-breaking $3.2 billion IPO.
Jio's valuation of $136.80 billion also helped to lift the broader Reliance conglomerate's combined market capitalisation to $320 billion to make it India's top firm by that metric, surpassing the salt-to-aviation
Tata Group, which oversees several listed entities in the country.
The Jio listing, the first for the Reliance conglomerate in two decades, advances Ambani's plan to turn Reliance from an oil-and-chemicals conglomerate into an "everything company" spanning consumer products and technology.
The listing ceremony on Wednesday in Mumbai was attended by members of the Ambani family, including Mukesh's eldest son, Akash, who is Jio's managing director. Before walking to the stage to speak, he touched his parents’ feet, a traditional gesture of respect.
While all three children of the senior Ambani gave speeches, Mukesh sat in the audience, visibly emotional and in tears.
Mukesh Ambani, Asia's richest person according to Forbes magazine, has spent years shaping a succession plan that was intended to avoid a repeat of the public feud with his younger brother, Anil, that followed their father Dhirubhai’s death in 2002.
Jio, whose telecoms business serves more than 530 million customers, is backed by Meta Platforms and Alphabet's Google. Its user numbers are second only to China Mobile's on the basis of single-country subscribers.
To celebrate the listing, Reliance is hosting a party for employees at its large office near Mumbai, with jam sessions and other performances planned, an internal memo showed.
Jio's stock was trading at 1,404 rupees a share, compared with its 1,119-rupee offer price. Its market capitalisation overtook those of telecom firm Bharti Airtel and HDFC Bank, making it the second-largest Indian firm by that metric.
"The IPO price offered a valuation entry point; the listing price reflects a much greater degree of optimism," said Aishvarya Dadheech, founder of Fident Asset Management.
'THANK YOU, INDIA'
Several brokerages see a potential upside for the Jio stock, but they flagged competition, heavy capital spending and changes in India's telecom rules, including those related to spectrum, licensing and fees.
"Jio has had a strong debut even despite geopolitical issues and turbulent market conditions ... the revenues and earnings will lead the stock here onwards," said Kranthi Bathini, equity strategist at WealthMills Securities.
Jio plans to use up to $2.89 billion of the net IPO proceeds to repay the borrowings of its telecoms unit.
The Ambani family rang the IPO bell on stage at the National Stock Exchange in Mumbai. Mukesh Ambani watched as Anant traced Reliance’s and Jio’s legacies and journey in a speech at the ceremony.
Major Indian newspapers on Wednesday carried front-page ads from Reliance Jio, saying, "Thank you, India."
India has become the world's busiest IPO market this year in terms of the number of deals, with 246 listings so far.
Despite its size, Jio Platforms' IPO was not a record payday for its bankers. Its 19 bankers will split about $20.7 million, or 0.65% of the offer, roughly half the 1.3% that sources said Hyundai Motor India paid to its bankers in 2024.
WEALTH GENERATOR
The Jio listing is the Ambanis’ latest turn at the stock market. Dhirubhai Ambani, Mukesh’s father and Reliance’s founder, took the company public in 1977 with an offering aimed at small retail investors, which was widely credited with helping build India’s equity culture.
Jio comes from a stable that Indian investors have long backed: parent Reliance Industries has returned about 900% since 2006, ahead of the Nifty’s 685%, LSEG data shows, and is often seen as a buy-and-hold staple in retail portfolios.
After the ceremony, people waved flags bearing the Jio logo next to the National Stock Exchange’s bull statue, where the Ambani family posed for pictures.
The listing comes during India's Hindu festive season, which builds towards Diwali, a period that is considered auspicious for purchases of gold and other big-ticket items.
(Additional reporting by Aditi Shah in Mumbai and Kashish Tandon in Bengaluru; Editing by Susan Fenton and Thomas Derpinghaus)
