India's Jio IPO opens for public bids in record US$3.2 billion sale

Jio Platforms, India's leading telecom company with over 500 million subscribers, is set to launch its US$3.2 billion IPO on Wednesday, October 21. This marks the largest share sale in India's history and the first from billionaire Mukesh Ambani's Reliance conglomerate in two decades. The IPO valuation of up to US$108.3 billion could make Jio Platforms one of India's most valuable companies by market capitalization when trading begins on October 28.

Retail investors, employees, and shareholders of Reliance will participate in the offering, with around a third of shares reserved for them. The IPO comes as global investors become more cautious about AI-related companies. Jio Platforms' telecom business, under the leadership of Ambani's son Akash, began in 2016, offering cheap data and free voice calls, quickly gaining market share from competitors like Bharti Airtel and Vodafone Idea.