Jio Platforms jumped about 21% on its first day of trading in Mumbai on 28 October, becoming India's second-largest listed company by market value. The debut closed the loop on the country's largest-ever share sale, which had drawn demand far in excess of the shares on offer.

Demand built before the first trade

Shares opened at ₹1,358, against an offer price of ₹1,119, a premium of ₹239, or about 21.4%. Reuters put the resulting valuation at about $131.5 billion, ahead of Bharti Airtel and HDFC Bank and behind only parent company Reliance Industries. The listing was Reliance's first in two decades, and it gives public investors direct exposure to a telecoms and digital business serving more than 530 million customers.

What the listing changes

The offer, worth about ₹30,213 crore ($3.2 billion), was open from 21 to 23 October. It was fully covered within roughly 95 to 100 minutes of opening, according to company and market reports, and finished subscribed more than 22 times overall. Institutional buyers led the way, subscribing about 70.55 times their allocated portion, while retail investors subscribed about 2.72 times. Anchor investors had earlier committed about ₹8,110 crore. That depth of demand helps explain why the grey market, an unofficial, unregulated pre-listing indicator, had pointed to an opening near ₹1,359, almost exactly where the shares began trading.

For Reliance, the listing is a further step in shifting the group's centre of gravity from oil and chemicals towards consumer and technology businesses. For Indian markets, it adds a very large new constituent: analysts cited before listing expect eventual inclusion in major benchmark indices to support demand, while also flagging competition, heavy capital spending and telecom regulation as risks to watch. Early trading is not a verdict on the long term: the opening premium rewards those who received shares in the offer, but the share price will now be set day by day by the wider market.

Sources: Reuters via WNCY and TelecomLead.