(Oct 13): Jio Platforms Ltd has drawn more than US$20 billion (RM81.74 billion) in bids for what could be India’s biggest-ever initial public offering, according to people familiar with the matter.

Global investors, including Fidelity, Allianz and Capital Group, as well as other international and local firms have indicated interest in the IPO, some of the people said, asking not to be identified because the information is private.  

A final list of IPO anchor investors will likely be decided in the coming days, the people said, adding that the process is ongoing and no final decisions have been made yet.

Representatives for Jio’s parent Reliance Industries Ltd and Fidelity did not respond to requests for comment. Allianz and Capital Group declined to comment.

After earlier expectations reached as high as US$170 billion, Jio Platforms is now aiming for a valuation of as much as 10.3 trillion rupees (RM442.07 billion) in the IPO, people familiar with the matter have said.

Akash Ambani, the 34-year-old managing director of Jio Platforms and son of multibillionaire Mukesh, has been leading the deal with meetings from Hong Kong to London and New York in recent weeks. According to people in attendance, investors pressed Ambani and his team on the valuation target and how the company plans to charge for digital services and various platforms.

The share sale is expected to open next week for an IPO before Oct 30.

None of Jio Platforms’ investors, which include Meta Platforms Inc, Alphabet Inc, Mubadala and Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund, are looking to exit in the IPO, as the offering is entirely a primary issue, the draft prospectus shows.

At the upper end of the price band, Jio Platforms’ IPO would raise about 302 billion rupees, according to Bloomberg calculations. India’s biggest IPO to date was by Hyundai Motor Co’s local unit, which raised about 279 billion rupees in 2024.

Uploaded by Arion Yeow