Jio Platforms Limited’s Rs. 8,110 crore ‘anchor book’ has received demand 30 times its size. This interest from institutional investors could form a strong basis for India’s largest initial public offering (IPO). According to people with knowledge of the matter, the total demand from institutional investors has reached around Rs 2.5 lakh crore. This is the first IPO in India which has received such massive demand. These include the world’s largest asset managers, sovereign wealth funds, India’s leading mutual fund companies, insurance companies and pension funds.

Veterans showed interest

The list of investors includes BlackRock, Capital Group, Fidelity Investments, T. Global asset management firms include Rowe Price, Schroders, JP Morgan Asset Management, Franklin Templeton, Invesco and Janus Henderson. Some of the world’s leading sovereign wealth funds have also shown interest in the issue. These include Singapore’s GIC, Norway’s Norges Bank Investment Management, Abu Dhabi Investment Authority (ADIA) and Qatar Investment Authority (QIA). Participation of local institutional investors is also very strong.

All of India’s top 10 mutual fund companies have shown interest in the offer. These include SBI Mutual Fund, ICICI Prudential Mutual Fund, HDFC Mutual Fund, Aditya Birla Sun Life Mutual Fund, Nippon India Mutual Fund and Kotak Mahindra Mutual Fund. The country’s largest insurance companies and pension funds are also part of this group of investors. It includes companies like Life Insurance Corporation of India (LIC), HDFC Life, SBI Life, SBI Pension, HDFC Pension and ICICI Prudential.

No one has been untouched by the IPO

Sources connected with this matter have said in the Money Control report that several billion dollar bids have come for this issue. The scope of participation in this is very wide. From global equity investors and sovereign wealth funds to local mutual funds and insurance companies, every segment of institutional capital has shown interest. According to people with knowledge of the matter, almost all major funds investing in India have shown interest in participating in the issue. No major fund has been spared. Foreign long-only funds, sovereign wealth funds and pension funds have seen the highest demand. This shows that the anchor book consists of institutional investors who have invested for a long time.

Jio is more than a telecom operator

According to sources, the scope of demand is far beyond traditional institutional investors. Technology-focused global funds and large family offices have also shown significant interest in the offering, further diversifying the investor pool. Jio is no longer just a telecom operator, but has become a comprehensive digital services platform with connectivity, broadband, cloud, entertainment and enterprise services. After the proposed listing, investors will be able to own the business as a separate listed company instead of a subsidiary of Reliance Industries. For this issue around Rs. 2.5 lakh crore demand and the participation of some of the world’s biggest funds puts a big stamp on the ‘Jio story’ even before it hits the market.