Jio Platforms IPO fully subscribed within 100 minutes of opening, led by institutional investors

Jio Platforms’ ₹30,213-crore initial public offering was fully subscribed within about 100 minutes of opening for bids on Wednesday, October 21. By 10:45 am the issue had drawn bids for 101% of the shares on offer, and the portion reserved for qualified institutional buyers (QIBs) was subscribed 3.25 times, CNBC-TV18 reported. NSE data showed the issue was fully subscribed by 10:36 am, according to Moneycontrol.

The pace stood out for an issue of this size. CNBC-TV18 said it was the fastest full subscription among large Indian IPOs, noting that Bajaj Housing Finance’s ₹6,560-crore issue was fully booked by 2 pm on its first day. Business Today noted that demand from institutional investors usually comes on the third day of an IPO.

Demand kept building through the day. By 3:12 pm, the issue had been subscribed 2.52 times, with bids for 49.74 crore shares against 19.75 crore on offer, Moneycontrol reported, citing NSE data. The QIB portion was subscribed 7.47 times and the non-institutional portion 1.33 times, while the retail portion was 60% subscribed. Bidding closes on Friday, October 23.

Jio Platforms, the digital arm of Mukesh Ambani-led Reliance Industries, is selling up to 27 crore new shares at ₹1,065 to ₹1,119 each, with no offer for sale by existing shareholders. At the top of the band it would be India’s largest IPO, overtaking Hyundai Motor India’s 2024 issue. Before bidding opened, the company raised about ₹8,110 crore from 212 anchor investors at ₹1,119 a share. The Indian Idiot’s earlier explainer covers the lot size, quotas and how allotment works.

In an interview with PTI on Tuesday, managing director Akash Ambani presented Jio as a technology company rather than only a telecom operator. “There is no either-or at Jio: the network is our technology,” he said. “Connectivity was the first product we built on that platform. Digital services, AI and cloud are what we are layering on top of it now.”

Reliance Industries shares rose about 2% on Wednesday as the issue filled up, The Times of India reported. Allotment is expected to be finalised around October 26, with listing on the BSE and NSE proposed for October 28. Grey market premiums quoted for the shares are informal and unofficial, and are not a reliable guide to the listing price. This report is not investment advice.