Jio Platforms, a crown jewel of Mukesh Ambani’s empire, makes its stock-market debut today following India’s largest-ever IPO at $3.1 billion. A gray-market premium of 22% signals strong investor confidence, with the offering subscribed 22 times and attracting nearly 14 million applications. Institutional investors bid 71 times the shares allocated to them, reflecting massive demand.
However, Jio faces a challenging precedent: the four companies that raised at least $2 billion in IPOs this decade fell an average of 9.9% on their first day, with only NSE finishing higher. The five previous biggest IPOs in India are all trading below their offer prices. “While a strong listing day gain seems likely, the true test will be how Akash Ambani and the leadership team sustain that momentum over the long haul,” said Kranthi Bathini of Wealth Mills Securities. If the gray-market premium holds, Jio could debut as India’s second-most valuable company, ahead of Bharti Airtel.
The IPO has also strained money markets, driving up overnight borrowing costs due to concentrated cash flows. Meanwhile, defense stocks rose after the government cleared procurement proposals worth 2.12 trillion rupees, boosting firms like HAL and BEML.
Source: Bloomberg Markets · Summarized by HeadlinesBriefing