Jio Platforms has drawn more than $77 billion in bids for its initial public offering, setting a new record for an Indian stock-market debut. Investors sought more than 22 times the shares available in the public issue, with demand from large financial institutions accounting for much of the oversubscription.
The ₹30,213-crore offering closed on Friday, October 23, after attracting bids for approximately 438.3 crore shares against 19.75 crore available to public investors. Final subscription stood at 22.19 times, while applications reached approximately 1.39 crore, another record for India's primary market.
The demand was particularly strong among qualified institutional buyers, whose allocation was subscribed 70.55 times. Non-institutional investors, including wealthy individuals, bid for 14 times their reserved portion, while retail investors subscribed 2.72 times their allocation.
For Reliance Industries, the response is a major endorsement of its decision to bring Jio to the stock market. The telecom and digital services company, which serves more than 500 million mobile subscribers, has become one of the group's most valuable businesses since its commercial launch a decade ago.
Jio's attraction extends beyond its mobile network. Its expanding broadband business, enterprise connectivity services and investments in artificial intelligence offer opportunities to increase earnings from an enormous existing customer base. Investors are also buying into a company whose scale would be difficult for a new competitor to replicate.
The issue was priced between ₹1,065 and ₹1,119 a share. At the upper end, Jio would command an indicative valuation of approximately $108 billion, placing it among India's largest listed companies when trading begins.
The National Stock Exchange's official issue details confirm that the offering consists of newly issued shares rather than a sale of existing investors' holdings. Reliance's October 14 filing of the red herring prospectus established the terms and timetable for the issue.
The final subscription also builds on the exceptional response to Jio's anchor allocation. Earlier in the week, institutional investors had placed bids worth approximately ₹2.5 lakh crore for an allocation valued at roughly ₹8,110 crore.
That earlier bidding and the subsequent public subscription demonstrate the breadth of interest, but they should not be confused with the amount Jio will receive. Oversubscription measures demand for shares, including unsuccessful bids. The company's proceeds remain limited by the number of shares ultimately allotted and their final issue price.
The enthusiasm is notable at a time when Indian and international equity markets have faced pressure from expensive energy, foreign portfolio outflows and falling technology valuations.
Jio's next milestone is the allocation of shares, scheduled for October 26, followed by its expected listing on October 28. The subscription figures establish extraordinary demand before trading begins; the listing will determine the price investors are willing to pay once those shares become freely tradable.
