Virendra Pandit
New Delhi: Jio Platforms Ltd’s blockbuster stock market debut on Wednesday has propelled the digital company and its parent Reliance Industries Ltd to replace Tata Group as India’s most valuable and largest conglomerate by market value.
Following listing, Jio ‘s shares climbed as much as 23 per cent on their first day of trading on Wednesday, giving the company a valuation of more than Rs.12.5 lakh crore (USD 131.4 billion), pushing Reliance Group’s combined market value past Rs. 30 lakh crore and surpassing Tata Group’s at Rs. 25 lakh crores.
Tata Group was at the top by market value for most of the past decade, data shows.
Jio, which listed after India’s largest IPO, also overtook nearest sector rival Bharti Airtel Ltd to become the sixth-most valuable telecom firm globally. It’s now the No. 2 company in India by the same metric, trailing only its parent, Reliance Industries Ltd.
The listing was an emotional moment for Ambani, who rang the listing bell with four generations on stage spanning his mother to his grandchildren. The Rs. 3.1 billion IPO was fully sold out in less than 100 minutes, oversubscribed 22 times and surged on debut, signalling that it’s on course to buck a poor track record for the country’s mega deals.
Reliance’s shares have tumbled 25.4 per cent this year while the benchmark NSE Nifty 50 has slipped almost 13.3 per cent.
However, the newly-listed telecom giant will have to wait for months before it can be added to India’s headline stock indexes such as the Nifty 50. Bourses first need to launch derivatives products on the stock before it can become eligible for inclusion into the benchmark indexes.