Meta- and Google-backed Jio Platforms opens 21% higher after India's largest IPO

Jio Platforms, billionaire Mukesh Ambani's Indian telecom and digital services unit, opened at ₹1,358 (about $14) a share on Wednesday, up from its IPO price of ₹1,119 (around $12), after raising $3.2 billion in India's largest and most subscribed IPO. At the issue price the company was valued at around ₹12.5 trillion, or about $131.9 billion. CNBC put the debut gain at 21.5%, and by 3:04 p.m. local time the stock was trading at ₹1,414.10, 26.29% above the issue price and 4.06% above its open, according to NSE data reported by Moneycontrol.

Demand was broad. The offer drew bids for 22.19 times the shares on sale from more than 13.8 million applicants, with more than $77 billion in investor bids. The IPO consisted entirely of newly issued shares, so early backers META and Alphabet's Google (GOOGL), which invested $5.7 billion and $4.5 billion respectively in 2020, sold nothing. Up to ₹275 billion of the proceeds is earmarked to repay debt, against borrowings of ₹613.7 billion.

The listing makes Jio India's second-most valuable listed company after its parent, Reliance Industries, which is valued at about ₹16 trillion. Jio earned a ₹300.5 billion profit on ₹1.47 trillion of revenue in fiscal 2026 and serves more than 540 million customers. Nomura was among the brokerages that initiated coverage of the stock on its first trading day, according to AFP.

The debut has also renewed investor interest in other Indian telecom and digital infrastructure names, including Bharti Airtel. The next questions are whether the premium holds once listing-day demand fades, how quickly the debt repayment lowers Jio's borrowings, and what the listing means for the value of Meta's and Google's stakes, now priced in a public market for the first time.