Mumbai: After a blockbuster IPO, Jio Platforms’ Managing Director Akash Ambani Wednesday vowed to take the company, which is at the core of making digital connectivity affordable for Indians, to greater heights and democratise newer technologies, including space connectivity.
Speaking during the listing of the company’s shares following the Rs 30,213 crore issue, Ambani said this is not a finish line but a start line for the company, and promised to grow investor wealth like its parent Reliance Industries has done over nearly 50 years now.
Shares of Jio Platforms, the Reliance Industries-backed digital services company, made a blockbuster debut on Wednesday, surging nearly 23 per cent against the issue price of Rs 1,119 and becoming the second most valuable domestic firm by market capitalisation.
The stock started trading at Rs 1,358, registering a jump of 21.36 per cent from the issue price on both the BSE and NSE.
The company’s market valuation stood at Rs 12,57,401.07 crore. Later, the stock hit the days high of Rs 1,375, up 22.87 per cent from the issue price on the BSE. At the NSE, it climbed 22.83 per cent to Rs 1,374.50.
“We promise to take Jio to greater heights of growth, excellence and reputation in India and the world,” the 35-year-old Akash Ambani said at the listing ceremony at NSE, which was also attended by his parents Mukesh and Nita Ambani, siblings Isha and Anant, and also grandmother Kokilaben.
The responsibility of the next generation of Ambanis is not just to preserve what they have inherited, but to make Jio bigger, better and more meaningful for India, Akash Ambani said at the ceremony where both his siblings also spoke.
Speaking before him, Anant said Jio was an idea seeded by Isha, which was adopted and nurtured by her twin brother Akash. Their 69-year-old father Mukesh — the chairman and managing director of Reliance Industries — watched the proceedings accompanied by his wife Nita, and was seen becoming emotional as the next generation took the centre stage.
Isha said Akash has worked hard for the last 13 years to build and grow Jio as India’s largest telco with over 53 crore subscribers.
Recalling their grandfather Dhirubhai’s maxim of ‘Growth is life’, Isha also vowed to keep building and create value for all the shareholders.
Spelling out Jio’s vision for the future, Akash said that in the first ten years, Jio democratised data.
“In our next ten (years), we want to democratise every technology that can transform Indian lives: AI, cloud, connected devices, connectivity even from space and digital services not yet imagined,” he said.
The true value of technology lies in the opportunity it creates, the barriers it removes and the lives it improves, Akash said.
He said the company’s ambition is a digital society with Jio Platforms at its core, where connectivity, computing and intelligence work together seamlessly.
For many years, the world looked at India as a consumer of technology, Akash said, adding that it is now emerging as its creator.
One day, Jio Platforms will become one of the greatest technology companies in the world, Akash said, adding, “we are now ready to take the tricolour global”.
The response to the IPO illustrates the investors’ confidence in India’s potential, Akash said, pointing out that the investor response surpassed his own imagination as well.
The company’s offering saw a demand of Rs 7.5 lakh crore through 1.3 crore applications, he said, stressing that the entire issue was subscribed within 95 minutes of the launch.
Stating that this was a deeply humbling experience, and one which has left him with a profound sense of responsibility, Akash said, “our success is measured by the ambitions we encourage and the potential we unlock towards a better India.”
The entire Ambani clan, including the next-generation kids, rang the bell as the clock struck 10 am.
The Jio Platforms scrip was trading 21.42 per cent up at Rs 1,358.7 a piece on the BSE at 1101 hrs as against 0.89 per cent correction on the benchmark.