MUMBAI: Jio Platforms, the telecom and digital arm of the Mukesh Ambani-led conglomerate, made a blockbuster stock market debut on Wednesday, October 28. Its shares started trading at Rs 1,358 on both the BSE and NSE. That is 21.36 per cent higher than the issue price of Rs 1,119. With this jump, Jio Platforms became India’s second most valuable company by market capitalisation, which is the total value of all of a company’s shares.
A strong start on day one
When a stock lists above its issue price, it is called a listing premium. It means investors who got shares in the IPO (initial public offering) made an instant gain. Before the listing, the grey market, an unofficial market where shares are traded ahead of the debut, had pointed to gains of about 22 per cent. The actual debut came close to that.
The biggest response ever
The Rs 30,213-crore IPO, worth about $3.2 billion, drew bids worth Rs 7.3 lakh crore. This is the biggest investor response to a public issue in the country. The issue was subscribed 22.19 times, which means investors asked for more than 22 times the shares on offer. More than one crore applications came in.
Who bid the most
Big institutions led the rush. Qualified institutional buyers (QIBs) bid for 70.55 times their reserved portion on the last day of the IPO, according to stock exchange data. Non-institutional investors subscribed 14 times their share. Retail investors, meaning ordinary people, subscribed 2.72 times their portion.
The interest began even before the public issue opened. The anchor book, the part sold first to large investors, drew more than 30 times the amount on offer. Total institutional demand reached nearly Rs 2.5 lakh crore.
Strong demand in a shaky market
This response is striking because stock markets have been under pressure. High crude oil prices, rising inflation, rising bond yields and high interest rates have all weighed on investors. Even so, buyers lined up for Jio’s shares. It suggests that investors still want big, well-known companies, even when the market mood is weak.
About Jio Platforms
The company is valued at up to $108.3 billion and has more than 530 million customers. It is backed by global names such as Meta and Google. Its debut was one of the most closely watched in the market this year.
What to keep in mind
A strong first day does not guarantee that a share price will keep rising. Prices move every day based on company results and the wider market. For people who got shares in the IPO, the listing gain is a good start, but the longer-term story will depend on how the company performs.
