NEW DELHI: Subscriptions for Indian billionaire Mukesh Ambani’s first IPO in two decades surged further on the final day of bidding on Friday (Oct 23), as investors bet on Jio Platforms’ US$3.2 billion offering to tap into the nation’s telecom and digital sector.
Jio’s 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.
Public subscriptions for the IPO crossed seven times the shares on offer by Friday, driven by strong demand from institutional and retail investors, employees and shareholders. Assuming bids were largely placed at the top end of the 1,119-rupee price band, total demand has now exceeded US$16 billion.
Anchor investors like the Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, BlackRock and Fidelity also bid for their exclusively reserved quota on Monday. Their reserved US$854 million worth of shares received bids of over US$25 billion.
The IPO values Jio Platforms at up to US$108.3 billion, potentially making it one of India’s biggest companies by market capitalisation when trading starts on Oct 28. 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 an unusually rapid start on Wednesday when the offering was fully subscribed within two hours of opening.
That contrasts with most Indian IPOs, where books typically build gradually and institutional investors often wait until the final hours to place bids.
