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Biman Mukherji

Indian telecom giant Reliance Jio’s plan to launch one of the country’s largest public share offerings in recent years is expected to shake up the domestic market and spur digital companies to raise funds amid a lull in the Iran war and global trade tensions.
Earlier this month, the company filed its initial public offering plan with the Securities and Exchange Board of India to raise US$3.8 billion to US$4 billion, potentially surpassing Hyundai Motor India’s record US$3.3 billion IPO in 2024. The fund-raising will be used to retire the company’s debts.
The National Stock Exchange, India’s leading financial exchange, has also filed draft papers for an IPO to raise between US$3.1 billion and US$3.3 billion.
“The last six months have been extremely volatile for the markets, but now the conditions seem to be stabilising, which is good for IPOs to launch. Hopefully, we have seen off the worst,” said Pranav Haldea, managing director of Prime Database, which specialises in financial market data.
Assuming market conditions do not deteriorate and the annual monsoon rains do not fall significantly, more companies could launch an IPO in the second half of the year to tap stronger investor sentiment, according to Haldea.
Global market sentiment has improved in recent weeks on expectations of a further drop in oil prices and a permanent peace deal to end the Iran war.
“Jio’s successful listing will definitely have a positive impact on market sentiment. However, they alone cannot revive the IPO market, which will depend on a broader recovery in the secondary market,” Haldea said. “Investors are quite discerning and will look at each IPO on its own merit.”

Billionaire Mukesh Ambani, one of Asia’s richest tycoons whose Reliance Industries owns a 66.43 per cent stake in its digital arm, announced plans for the Jio IPO at the company’s annual general meeting on June 19.
Haldea said he expected the market regulator to take a month or two to approve Jio’s IPO and the timing of its launch would depend on market conditions.
Raj Kapoor, president of India Blockchain Alliance, said Jio’s listing could transform investor perceptions of major Indian telcos. The company aims to position itself as an integrated digital ecosystem spanning telecom, artificial intelligence, digital infrastructure and other businesses, according to Kapoor.
“Jio’s IPO will redefine how investors value digital enterprises in India. Until now, telecom companies have largely been viewed as connectivity providers,” Kapoor said.
Market interest in Jio’s IPO could also spill over to the planned listings later this year by other digital firms, including PhonePe, a payments provider, and Nykaa, an online cosmetics retailer, Kapoor said.
If well received by investors, more companies could look to India to raise funds for their business expansion, he added.
“The most important shift may be psychological. For years, India’s start-up ecosystem looked primarily towards Silicon Valley. A successful Jio IPO could convince entrepreneurs that India itself can finance companies of global scale.”

Risks of telecom duopoly
Jio’s IPO, however, has intensified concerns on the duopoly nature of India’s telco market.
Jio, which became a leading telco through its low-cost mobile services and data plans, dominates the Indian market with rival Bharti Airtel. Both companies announced separate partnerships with Elon Musk’s SpaceX earlier this year to bring satellite internet services to India.
The two telcos accounted for 95 per cent of all new mobile connections as of April, according to data from the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India.
A report by the state-backed India Brand Equity Foundation shows that India was the world’s second-largest telecom market as of February, with 1.3 billion phone subscribers.
Telecom Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia warned at a wi-fi event in New Delhi last week that India could not afford to have a telecom duopoly and wanted to spur competition across all sectors. Authorities are exploring structural and regulatory solutions to address rising prices and a potential lack of innovation in the sector.
Vodafone India is the only other telecom firm in the country.
Kapoor said the impact of a duopoly was likely to be mixed on the smaller industry players. Those without sufficient capital would find it hard to compete with Jio and Bharti Airtel in data and other services, he added.
“Smaller digital players who position themselves on top of Jio’s infrastructure and not competitors to it are likely to thrive.”


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Reliance Jio’s IPO set to intensify focus on India’s telco sector amid duopoly fears

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A positive response to the IPO could spur investor interest in the proposed listings by PhonePe and Nykaa, analysts say


A positive response to the IPO could spur investor interest in the proposed listings by PhonePe and Nykaa, analysts say.


Reliance Jio’s IPO set to intensify focus on India’s telco sector amid duopoly fears

.css-1c6uqr6{color:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-size:inherit;font-family:inherit;line-height:inherit;overflow-wrap:break-word;}A positive response to the IPO could spur investor interest in the proposed listings by PhonePe and Nykaa, analysts say

A positive response to the IPO could spur investor interest in the proposed listings by PhonePe and Nykaa, analysts say