Jio Platforms IPO Draws 3.16 Times Demand on First Bidding Day

Jio Platforms, the digital services arm of Reliance Industries, opened its ₹30,213 crore initial public offering on October 21, according to Entrackr. BBC News described the $3.2 billion offering as India's biggest share sale, arriving despite subdued equity markets.

There was already substantial demand before public bidding began. On October 19, Inc42 reported that Jio had raised ₹8,109.8 crore from anchor investors, allotting more than 7.2 crore shares at ₹1,119 each. Twenty-five domestic mutual funds took more than a third of that allocation, while insurers subscribed for another 13.4%.

On October 20, South China Morning Post framed the impending launch as a test of investor confidence in Jio amid intensifying rivalry with Musk. Its headline used a US$108 billion figure for the IPO, while opening-day reports described a US$3.2 billion sale. The supplied coverage does not reconcile those figures.

Public bidding opened on October 21. By 09:45 IST, the issue was 58% subscribed, while the qualified institutional buyer allocation had attracted 1.95 times demand, Inc42 reported. Institutions were leading the early buying.

The offering became fully subscribed within 100 minutes of opening, according to The Times of India. That milestone meant bids had covered the shares on offer, not that the bidding period had ended.

By the close of the first day, investors had bid for 62.4 crore shares, taking overall subscription to 3.16 times, Business Line reported. Institutional buyers sought 46.15 crore shares against an allocation of 4.9 crore.

On October 22, Economic Times Business & Economy reported that first-day bids had reached ₹70,000 crore and institutional subscription stood at 9.42 times. Those figures put the opening-day response well beyond the initial fully subscribed milestone.

The latest reported overall subscription is 3.16 times, with institutions accounting for most of the demand. The ₹70,000 crore figure represents bids, rather than a corresponding increase in the size of the offering, according to the subscription figures reported by Economic Times Business & Economy.

The response is particularly striking against the wider market backdrop. Bloomberg reported that enthusiasm for Jio's offering contrasted sharply with the Reliance group's recent stock-market performance, even as the Nifty struggled.

Bidding is scheduled to close on October 23, according to Entrackr. The next concrete measure is the final subscription total, including how demand beyond institutional buyers develops before the window shuts. The first-day figures do not yet establish that final balance.