Jio Platforms IPO draws record 10 million applications amid strong investor demand

Foreign institutional investors (FIIs) submitted bids worth ₹1.39 trillion, subscribing to their reserved portion 25 times, despite being net sellers in the secondary market. They have net sold shares worth ₹96,612 crore in September and October so far.The country’s largest-ever IPO was fully subscribed within 100 minutes of opening on Wednesday, 21 October, the first day of IPO. Backed by Reliance Industries Ltd, Jio Platforms counts Meta Platforms Inc. and Google parent Alphabet Inc. among its investors and is led by Akash Ambani, the eldest son of Reliance chairman Mukesh Ambani.

Retail investors put 2.72 more bids for the IPO. While the non-institutional investors (NIIs) put 14 times more bids for the IPO.The blockbuster response is being watched as a test of investor appetite for large listings at a time when Indian equities have underperformed other Asian markets.“The strong demand is also reflected in the availability of institutional capital waiting to be deployed, with both domestic and foreign investors looking to participate in India’s story,” said Manick Wadhwa, executive director at SKI Capital Services Ltd.

Despite pressure on Indian equities from rising bond yields, rupee depreciation and geopolitical tensions, investors viewed Jio as an attractive bottom-up investment opportunity, he said.Jio Platforms’ scale and faster revenue growth than its listed telecom rivals underpin its public offering. The company had 533.3 million customers as of June 2026, with a 50% share of wireless broadband and 42.6% of fixed broadband, according to Emkay Global Financial Services.

It also has the largest 5G customer base outside China and carries about 60% of India’s wireless data traffic, the brokerage said.Jio Platforms’ consolidated revenue grew at a compound annual growth rate of 15.8% between fiscal year 2024 (FY24) and FY26, compared with 13.3% for Bharti Airtel Ltd and 2.6% for Vodafone Idea Ltd.Market weakness fails to deter investorsThe record number of applications came despite weak market performance.

The Nifty 50 was down 12.7% over the past year.Jio Platforms’ IPO set a record for the number of applications, which crossed one crore, said Mohit Mehra, head of equity capital markets at Zerodha Corporate Advisors. The large number of applications, particularly from retail investors, despite weak markets showed the scale of the IPO’s success, Mehra said.The IPO comes as Jio seeks to build on its dominance across mobile connectivity, home broadband and digital services,The offer—entirely fresh issue, priced at ₹1,065–1,119 a share, opened on Wednesday and closed on Friday.

Of the proceeds, ₹27,500 crore will be used to repay or prepay borrowings at subsidiary Reliance Jio Infocomm, helping reduce financing costs.Next testThe next test will be the stock’s performance after listing, market experts said.On 23 October, Jio Platforms’ grey-market premium (GMP) stood at ₹255, implying a potential listing gain of 22.79%, according to IPO Watch. Grey-market premiums are unofficial indicators and do not guarantee listing-day gains.“What remains to be seen is whether the institutional demand seen in the primary market sustains after the listing. Now that the IPO is behind us, the markets will take cues from geopolitical events,” said Ambareesh Baliga, an independent market analyst.