Mukesh Ambani’s Jio seeks US$3.2bil in record India IPO

Reliance Industries has expanded beyond oil refining and petrochemicals into telecoms, digital services and green energy, with Jio Platforms central to its strategy. (EPA Images pic) MUMBAI: India's Jio Platforms, the digital arm of conglomerate Reliance Industries, is aiming to raise more than US$3 billion in what would be the country's biggest-ever initial public offering, after announcing pricing details ahead of next week's launch.

The company, controlled by billionaire Mukesh Ambani, is looking to sell 270 million new shares at 1,065-1,119 rupees (US$11.22-US$11.79) each, it said in a statement late Wednesday.

A sale at the top end of the range would raise around US$3.2 billion, surpassing the previous national IPO record of US$2.9 billion set by Hyundai Motor India in 2024.

The IPO opens for subscriptions on Oct 21, with a view to listing a week later.

Reliance Industries, India's most valuable listed company, has been pushing to expand beyond its traditional oil refining and petrochemicals businesses into telecoms, digital services and green energy, with Jio Platforms at the heart of that strategy.

While Jio has expanded into areas ranging from artificial intelligence to enterprise network services, it is best known for telecoms subsidiary Jio Infocomm, India's largest mobile operator by subscribers.

Launched a decade ago, Jio's wireless service disrupted the market with steep discounts that helped it rapidly win customers from rivals Bharti Airtel and Vodafone.

The carrier now has more than 530 million subscribers and handles roughly 60% of India's mobile data traffic.

The company raised more than US$20 billion in 2020 from global investors and technology giants including Meta and Alphabet, funding an ambitious digital ecosystem spanning payments, entertainment streaming and online services.