Jio Platforms shares list at 21 per cent premium

Massive enthusiasm has been witnessed among investors with the entry of India's largest telecom company, Jio Platforms, into the stock market. On Wednesday, Jio Platforms shares listed on the BSE and NSE at a price of ₹1,359, which is at a 21 per cent premium over the company's IPO price. With this listing, Jio Platforms has become India's second most valuable company.

According to a report by The Economic Times, Jio Platforms shares have listed at ₹1,359 against an issue price of ₹1,119. Brokerage firm Nomura has given a 'Buy' advice for the first time for this company and has provided a target price of ₹1,340, indicating a 20 per cent increase from the issue price. Nomura stated that the company which once disrupted the market has now become a leader.

As per a report by BBC Hindi, Jio Platforms' ₹30,213 crore IPO is the largest IPO in India's history. For this IPO, bids received were more than the available shares just a few hours after applications commenced on 21 October. This IPO received a tremendous response from the world's large fund managers, Indian institutions, and small retail investors.

According to a report by TV9 Gujarati, Jio Platforms ranks first in terms of the number of shareholders. The company has 79.8 lakh shareholders. In this list, Tata Motors PVeh is second with 61.2 lakh shareholders, Vodafone Idea is third with 57.9 lakh shareholders, Yes Bank is fourth with 57.6 lakh shareholders, and Suzlon Energy is fifth with 56 lakh shareholders. In this list, Tata Motors holds a position with 53.1 lakh, Tata Steel with 51.4 lakh, Reliance Industries with 50.7 lakh, IRFC with 50.1 lakh, Jio Financial with 49.7 lakh, and HDFC Bank with 48.1 lakh shareholders.

The owner of Jio Platforms is Asia's richest person, Mukesh Ambani. The company entered India's telecom market in 2016 and connected millions of Indians to the internet by providing services at extremely low rates. Due to the company's aggressive approach, a major upheaval occurred in India's telecom market. At one time there were 17 companies in the market, which is now limited to only three large companies. Some critics alleged that Jio started such a price war that other companies had to shut down their businesses. Recently, Elon Musk criticized Mukesh Ambani, calling him the "real boss of India" and hinting that Jio is trying to prevent his company Starlink from entering India. However, Reliance dismissed these allegations, saying they welcome Musk's competition.

Jio's cheap data plans have played a crucial role in building India's digital economy. Jio has made a major contribution in making services like online payments, food delivery, and e-commerce accessible to the common people. In the first three years after Jio's arrival, customers' data consumption increased 50 times and data prices decreased rapidly. By 2026, the company has created approximately 55.3 crore mobile customers. The company has a share of more than 50 per cent in the wireless broadband market and more than 40 per cent in fixed broadband. According to MK Global, 60 per cent of India's total wireless data traffic passes through Jio's network. The company also says that besides China, it has the largest number of 5G customers.

Analysts believe that listing in the stock market could bring a major change in the company's pricing strategy. Through this IPO, the company's promoters will reduce their stake by approximately 3 per cent. According to Nitya Shah, co-founder of Wealth Management, Jio's era of using low rates as a weapon to increase market share is now nearing its end. After listing on the stock market, Jio will also have to answer to small shareholders, which may weaken the reason for keeping prices intentionally low.

Motilal Oswal stated in a note that the company's future growth will depend on how much more revenue it earns from each customer. For this, it will be important to move customers to 5G, increase tariffs periodically, and reach homes with fixed wireless broadband where fiber has not yet reached. The biggest beneficiary of this change could be Vodafone Idea, as this could provide strong support to the company with the weakest financial position in this sector.

Data consumption figures are also being seen to increase. In 2024, Jio's average monthly data consumption per customer was 28.7 GB, which increased to 42.3 GB in 2026. That is, a 50 per cent increase in two years. According to some estimates, data consumption could reach 65 GB by the end of this decade, which will help Jio increase the average revenue per customer in the long run. According to MK Global, the reach of digital services is still low compared to China and America, so there are many possibilities for growth. According to rating agency Moody's, listing in the stock market could increase transparency in Jio's operations and provide investors with a clearer market valuation of the company.

Jio Platforms is currently a part of Reliance Industries. Reliance's business spans from oil refining to retail. Reliance started with a small business of spices and polyester yarn in 1958 and subsequently expanded its scope to textiles, petrochemicals, refining, retail, telecom, and digital services. Reliance has created a record of increasing investor wealth for a long time. The company's founder Dhirubhai Ambani played a foundational role in making investment in the stock market popular in the 1980s and 1990s. Instead of limiting stock market investment only to wealthy families, he brought it to the common people. An emotional connection with investors was also built through the tradition of turning the company's annual general meetings into large festivals.

In the last one year, the share price of Reliance Industries has decreased by approximately 20 per cent, yet investor confidence remains intact due to long-term records. Kranti Bathini of Mumbai's Wealthmiles Securities stated that the company has continuously given an average annual return of approximately 30 per cent for 30 years, due to which people hope that the same magic will be seen in Jio's IPOs as well.