Reliance Urged Staff to Open Trading Accounts Ahead of Jio's $3.2 Billion IPO, People Familiar Say

Since Reliance Industries filed a price band for Jio Platforms on Wednesday, Oct. 14, the argument over what India's biggest-ever IPO is worth has sharpened. Jio is offering up to 270 million new shares at ₹1,065 to ₹1,119 each, to raise about ₹30,200 crore, or $3.2 billion. At the top of the range, that values the company at about ₹10.3 trillion ($108.3 billion).

The calendar is set. Anchor investors bid on Oct. 19. Public subscription opens Oct. 21 and closes Oct. 23. Even at the bottom of the band, the deal would surpass Hyundai Motor India's ₹278.7 billion offering in 2024, the country's largest to date.

Employees get the pitch

People familiar with the matter told Bloomberg that Reliance has contacted most of its roughly 420,000 employees across group companies and encouraged them to consider the IPO. Teams reportedly asked staff whether they or their family members hold the accounts needed to trade shares electronically, and urged those without one to open one.

The same people said Reliance released October salaries about 15 days earlier than usual, and that staff were not told why. A Reliance representative did not immediately comment. The sources asked not to be identified because the information is private.

There is a formal channel for this. The prospectus sets aside up to ₹5 billion ($53 million) of shares for employees at a ₹54-per-share discount. Another ₹25 billion ($263 million) is reserved for eligible Reliance shareholders. Reliance has 419,911 employees, including 74,822 at Jio. No source describes any requirement to buy.

What buyers would be paying for

The business itself is strong. In the year ended March 2026, Jio posted revenue of ₹1.47 trillion and after-tax profit of ₹300.5 billion, with an EBITDA margin of 51.9%. In the June quarter, revenue rose nearly 12% to ₹391.7 billion and net profit climbed 9% to ₹77.6 billion, according to the prospectus.

The price is the debate. Asia Times calculates the valuation at about 34 times profit. Rival Bharti Airtel is valued at roughly ₹11 trillion and earns ₹257 per customer per month, against Jio's ₹214 ($2.22), though the outlet notes the two figures are not strictly comparable.

Growth is the harder question. Jio added 36.2 million customers in the year to March, reaching 524.4 million. Nomura says India's era of "easy subscriber gains" in mobile is ending and that tariff increases are likely to become "the primary driver of earnings growth." Asia Times estimates that a ₹10 rise in average monthly revenue per user would add about ₹63 billion in annual revenue. No such increase has been announced.

The prospectus also shows return on average capital employed slipped to 10.76% in fiscal 2026, according to the Sahi analysis of the filing.

Where the money goes

Up to ₹275 billion, about 91% of the proceeds, is earmarked to repay borrowings at the telecom subsidiary Reliance Jio Infocomm. The rest goes to general corporate purposes. Jio's managing director has said the proceeds will make the company net-debt-free.

That is a different use of money than the sales pitch suggests. Marketing for the offering leans on artificial intelligence, satellites and a "digital ecosystem," while most of the cash retires old debt.

The retail test

The offering lands in a different market than Reliance's 1977 IPO, which helped introduce Indian households to equities. NSE data shows more than 130 million registered investors, nearly 40% of them under 30. A 2024 study by India's securities regulator found retail investors sold 40% of their IPO allocations within a week of listing.

Reliance shares are down 23% this year, putting the group on course for its worst annual performance since 2011. Retail applicants can bid up to ₹2 lakh, with a minimum lot priced at ₹13,428 at the top of the band.

Musk in the background

Elon Musk has stepped up criticism of Mukesh Ambani, accusing him of trying to keep Starlink out of India. Indian authorities have rejected Musk's claims, and Reliance has said the rules apply equally to all. Jio and Airtel both signed deals more than a year ago with SpaceX to distribute Starlink, subject to regulatory approval.

Akash Ambani, 34, Jio's managing director and Mukesh Ambani's eldest son, is leading the listing. In 2020, Jio drew more than $20 billion from global investors, including $5.7 billion from Meta and $4.5 billion from Google, at a valuation of up to ₹4.91 trillion.

The next data point comes Monday, Oct. 19, when anchor investors submit bids. How institutions price the offering will be the first hard test of whether a 34-times multiple holds, before retail subscription opens on Oct. 21.