For many generations, Reliance Industries Limited was his first introduction to the stock market. Its founder Dhirubhai Ambani lured middle-income savers into stocks, creating a large base that continued for decades. Nearly fifty years after Reliance went public, its billionaire son Mukesh and grandson Akash are now preparing to list the group’s telecom and digital services units. This will be India’s largest initial public offering (IPO) ever. Jio Platforms Limited plans to raise around $3.2 billion through the IPO, which will open on October 21. This IPO will show how important the Reliance brand is to retail investors even today.

Dominated by Zen and young investors

The market that Jio is targeting is completely different from the market of Dhirubhai’s time. According to data from the National Stock Exchange of India, there are now more than 130 million (13 crore) registered stock market investors in India, about 40% of whom are under the age of 30. Today thousands of stocks, various types of mutual funds and other investment options are available to attract their money. Older shareholders saw Reliance as a stock they could hold for decades. At the same time, for young investors, growth, profit and valuation are more important when making investment decisions.

Attitudes have changed

Mahendra Kheda, 69, started his career as a floor trader before becoming a member of the Bombay Stock Exchange in the late 1960s, Bloomberg reported. He said whether it was Dhirubhai’s ambition, his efforts to build a large army of retail investors, or return on capital to shareholders – Reliance proved itself different from others. His 44-year-old son Hardik, himself an equity trader, has a different view of Jio. He said I will withdraw my profit immediately after listing. Retail investors should be very grateful to the Ambani family for popularizing the practice of buying shares directly, but we are now in a very different era of financial markets.

IPO almost 50 years ago

Under Mukesh Ambani’s leadership, Reliance has grown from a textile and chemical manufacturer to India’s most valuable company, with businesses now spanning sectors such as energy, consumer goods and telecom. Dhirubhai, a first-generation entrepreneur, challenged Mumbai’s established industrial structure. Under his leadership, the company decided to raise capital from thousands of individual investors to build its textile empire.

According to Reliance’s annual report, the IPO in November 1977 raised Rs. 28 million was raised and about 58,000 investors participated. The IPO was oversubscribed seven times. This gave birth to an ‘equity culture’ (the practice of investing in the stock market) in India, as more households started buying shares directly. Annual meetings of shareholders turned into huge public gatherings. One such meeting was held in the mid-1980s at the Cooperage Football Ground in South Mumbai.

Many questions about Jio

As of a roadshow presentation held in Mumbai on Thursday, Reliance’s shares have given an annual average return of around 29% since listing, Bloomberg reported. However, Reliance’s shares have fallen 23% this year due to a heavy sell-off in the domestic stock market. Because of this, this could turn out to be the company’s worst annual performance since 2011. Akash Ambani, Mukesh Ambani’s elder son and the 34-year-old managing director of Jio Platforms, is leading the company’s listing process. This is his first major independent work at Reliance.

People with knowledge of the matter said that earlier it was expected that Jio would ask for around Rs 11 lakh crore. According to a Bloomberg report, during the global roadshow, fund managers questioned why Jio should command a higher valuation (premium) than its smaller rival Bharti Airtel Ltd. Besides, he also asked how Jio plans to monetize digital services apart from its core telecom business.

People close to the matter said in a Bloomberg report that Jio has received bids of more than $20 billion. Foreign investors like Fidelity Management & Research, Allianz SE and Capital Group have also shown interest. Despite this demand, Jio per share at Rs. 1,065 to Rs. 1,119 a share, which would value the company at about $108 billion at the upper end of this price range. This is low (at a discount) compared to Bharti Airtel’s market value of $125 billion.

Believe in short term investments

In a Bloomberg report, 24-year-old Prathamesh Gokhale says Jio’s growth prospects and valuation are more important to him than the Ambani family legacy. They are planning to bid in this IPO. He said that if I am allotted shares, I will sell half of my holdings in the short term to make immediate profit and keep the rest for long term gain. They also see Bharti Airtel as a good investment option. Gokhale, who is studying accountancy, says that limited capital makes it very important to keep money free for other investments.

This idea is quite common among Indian IPO investors. A 2024 study by the market regulator showed that retail investors sold 40% of their allotted shares within a week of listing. When returns rose above 20%, he sold about two-thirds of his shares. Now they have many more options to invest that money.

Jio changed the telecom market

India’s $5 trillion market now includes not only the industrial conglomerates and multinationals that once dominated trading, but also consumer-tech companies, digital payments companies and stock exchanges. When Jio entered the Indian telecom market a decade ago with affordable 4G data services, it changed the entire market. According to Gitanjali Kedia, investment advisor at SPTulsian.com, the question now is whether Jio can continue to innovate and achieve the next phase of growth. He said that investors have become much wiser now. Companies have to consistently deliver good returns to get investors’ attention and money.