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Jio Platforms Ltd’s initial public offering (IPO) attracted more than 10 million applications over its three-day subscription window, the highest number for any share sale in India’s history, as investors placed bids worth ₹4.9 trillion. The ₹30,213-crore offering was subscribed 22.19 times by Friday, according to the BSE, with demand far exceeding the shares reserved for institutional investors. Foreign institutional investors (FIIs) submitted bids worth ₹1.39 trillion, subscribing to their reserved portion 25 times, despite being net sellers in the secondary market. They have net sold shares worth ₹96,612 crore in September and October so far. The country’s largest-ever IPO was fully subscribed within 100 minutes of opening on Wednesday, 21 October, the first day of IPO. Backed by Reliance Industries Ltd, Jio Platforms counts Meta Platforms Inc. and Google parent Alphabet Inc. among its investors and is led by Akash Ambani, the eldest son of Reliance chairman Mukesh Ambani. Retail investors put 2.72 more bids for the IPO. While the non-institutional investors (NIIs) put 14 times more bids for the IPO. The blockbuster response is being watched as a test of investor appetite for large listings at a time when Indian equities have underperformed other Asian markets. “The strong demand is also reflected in the availability of institutional capital waiting to be deployed, with both domestic and foreign investors looking to participate in India’s story,” said Manick Wadhwa, executive director at SKI Capital Services Ltd. Despite pressure on Indian equities from rising bond yields, rupee depreciation and geopolitical tensions, investors viewed Jio as an attractive bottom-up investment opportunity, he said. Jio Platforms’ scale and faster revenue growth than its listed telecom rivals underpin its public offering. The company had 533.3 million customers as of June 2026, with a 50% share of wireless broadband and 42.6% of fixed broadband, according to Emkay Global Financial Services. It also has the largest 5G customer base outside China and carries about 60% of India’s wireless data traffic, the brokerage said. Jio Platforms’ consolidated revenue grew at a compound annual growth rate of 15.8% between fiscal year 2024 (FY24) and FY26, compared with 13.3% for Bharti Airtel Ltd and 2.6% for Vodafone Idea Ltd. The record number of applications came despite weak market performance. The Nifty 50 was down 12.7% over the past year. Jio Platforms’ IPO set a record for the number of applications, which crossed one crore, said Mohit Mehra, head of equity capital markets at Zerodha Corporate Advisors. The large number of applications, particularly from retail investors, despite weak markets showed the scale of the IPO’s success, Mehra said. The IPO comes as Jio seeks to build on its dominance across mobile connectivity, home broadband and digital services, The offer—entirely fresh issue, priced at ₹1,065–1,119 a share, opened on Wednesday and closed on Friday. Of the proceeds, ₹27,500 crore will be used to repay or prepay borrowings at subsidiary Reliance Jio Infocomm, helping reduce financing costs. The next test will be the stock’s performance after listing, market experts said. On 23 October, Jio Platforms’ grey-market premium (GMP) stood at ₹255, implying a potential listing gain of 22.79%, according to IPO Watch. Grey-market premiums are unofficial indicators and do not guarantee listing-day gains. “What remains to be seen is whether the institutional demand seen in the primary market sustains after the listing. Now that the IPO is behind us, the markets will take cues from geopolitical events,” said Ambareesh Baliga, an independent market analyst. Srushti is a markets reporter at Mint. She writes on equity markets, and her areas of coverage range from brokers and exchanges to mutual funds and the fast-evolving alternatives space, including GIFT City, from the financial capital of India. She has an experience of over three years in journalism, and has previously worked at Moneycontrol. She has an undergraduate degree in mass communication and a postgraduate diploma in business and financial journalism from Asian College of Journalism, Chennai.<br><br>Srushti prefers meeting people from the industry over making calls. Her work aims to drive impact—her story on illegal gold imports, for instance, caught the government’s attention and contributed to a policy shift. She specialises in turning complex market data into clear, engaging stories so even her grandmother could understand futures and options.<br><br>Outside of the newsroom, she enjoys spending money on jewellery and watching thriller films—especially the kind that keep her awake at night. She spends 1.5 hours a day commuting in Mumbai locals, listening to horror podcasts on her way to work. She’s also very talkative—so reach out only if you have lots of time. Catch all the Business News , Market News , Breaking News Events and Latest News Updates on Live Mint. Download The Mint News App to get Daily Market Updates. Oops! Looks like you have exceeded the limit to bookmark the image. Remove some to bookmark this image.
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