Jio IPO: Nithin Kamath explains how Jio played an important role in making what Zerodha is today

As Reliance Jio launched India’s largest ever initial public offering on Wednesday, Zerodha CEO Nithin Kamath took to X to explain how the telecom giant has changed India and helped so many businesses start and grow in its 10-year-long journey.

Kamath recalled an Economic Times article from 2015 which had listed himself along with Mukesh Ambani among businessmen to watch in 2016. “When Jio was getting ready to launch in 2015, I remember being petrified to find myself on this Economic Times list of 10 businessmen to watch in 2016. Mukesh Ambani was #1, and I was #6, mainly because we had just made delivery brokerage free. We were, and still are, ants compared to Reliance/Jio,” he wrote.

Looking back, Kamath said that what is phenomenal is not just how big Jio has become. It is how much it has changed India and helped so many businesses start and grow. “We have been beneficiaries too. Zerodha wouldn't be what it is today without Aadhaar and UPI. But just as important was Jio, along with Airtel, bringing millions of Indians online with affordable data,” Kamath wrote in his post on X.


Also read | Jio IPO opens with a bang, issue gets fully booked as QIBs drive demand. Check GMP

Together, the Zerodha CEO feels that all of this made the huge expansion of Indian capital markets after COVID-19 possible. Without this digital infrastructure, many online-first businesses would be much smaller, and a lot of today's consumer business models might not exist at all, he said. “In 2016, India had roughly 2 crore unique investors. Today, over 13 crore Indians invest in the markets, and Jio played a big part in that.”

While Kamath is not advising whether investors should apply for Jio IPO, he said both Jio and Airtel have played a huge role in enabling an entire generation of Indian businesses like Zerodha. “And it's nice that the capital markets they helped grow can now help Jio raise money. From the outside, it's easy to miss how much of our success depends on infrastructure built by others.”

Reliance Jio IPO

Mukesh Ambani's Jio Platforms IPO opened for public subscription today, with unlisted shares commanding a grey market premium (GMP) of around 22%, indicating strong investor interest ahead of India's largest-ever public offering. Brokerages are positive on the issue, citing the company's dominant telecom position, improving profitability and growth opportunities in broadband and artificial intelligence.

Also read: Jio Platforms IPO: Track live subscription status, GMP here

The Rs 30,213 crore IPO with a price band of Rs 1,065 to Rs 1,119 per share, will remain open until October 23. At the upper end of the price band, Jio Platforms is seeking a valuation of Rs 10.3 lakh crore, making it one of India's most valuable companies.

The IPO has already received a strong response from institutional investors. Jio raised Rs 8,110 crore from its anchor allocation on Monday, with LIC, BlackRock, Fidelity and several other prominent domestic and global institutions participating.

Also read | Jio IPO beyond telecom: Why the Ambanis are pitching AI, cloud and 7,220 patents as Jio’s tech future

Disclaimer: This article has been written by Debaroti Adhikary, who is not a SEBI-registered Research Analyst or an Investment Adviser. Debaroti Adhikary and his/her ‘relative(s)’ (as defined under Section 2(77) of the Companies Act, 2013) do not hold any financial interest in the companies mentioned in this article as of the date of publication. The views/recommendations mentioned in this article, wherever applicable, are those of the respective SEBI-registered Research Analyst/brokerage and have been reproduced/reported with due attribution. They should not be construed as the views or recommendations of The Economic Times Digital or the journalist. Readers are advised to consider the original research report and make their investment decisions based on their own assessment. Brokerage disclaimers here.