India’s record US$108b Jio IPO tests market faith as Musk rivalry heats up

The coming launch of India’s largest-ever initial public offering (IPO) will test investor confidence in the country’s leading telecoms operator, Jio Platforms, the digital arm of billionaire Mukesh Ambani’s Reliance Industries.Jio’s public share offer on Wednesday comes close on the heels of an escalating row between Ambani and Elon Musk. The SpaceX founder has accused the Indian industrialist of using monopolistic influence to block Starlink’s entry into India – a charge Reliance has denied, saying it has never feared competition.Ambani’s US$3.2 billion Jio Platforms listing has already drawn strong interest from institutional investors, including Singapore’s GIC, BlackRock and Fidelity, reportedly generating bids totalling nearly 30 times the quota reserved for anchor investors.Targeting a valuation of over US$108 billion, the IPO comes at a sensitive juncture, as soaring oil prices caused by the Middle East conflict continue to weigh on global trading sentiment.“It is a mega listing and there is tremendous interest in the IPO despite geopolitical concerns,” said Pranav Haldea, managing director of market data firm Prime Database, referring to the Middle East conflict and the broader uncertainty it has wrought on financial markets.Reliance Jio is India’s leading telecoms provider, holding close to 80 per cent of the domestic market alongside competitor Bharti Airtel, according to data from the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India as of August this year.A man passes a Reliance Industries Jio Digital Life store in Kolkata, India, in June. Photo: ReutersThe listing has drawn international attention not only because it is the largest in Indian history but also because it coincides with foreign investors pulling tens of billions of dollars out of India’s stock market amid rising global interest rates, high energy costs and a shift towards artificial intelligence assets.However, Haldea said secondary market capital flight was unlikely to derail Jio’s debut. Foreign investors have continued to invest in India’s primary market – where companies issue new shares – showing a sustained appetite for individual companies despite broader withdrawals.