Beyond the IPO

By aiming to unlock shareholder value, Reliance Jio's public listing will focus more on monetisation rather than just building subscriber base

- By SALIL PANCHAL

ON AUGUST 29, THE STOCK markets absorbed one of the most anticipated news it had been expecting for months: The broad plans for the Reliance Jio listing. But a week since the announcement (and at the time of going to press), the Reliance stock had inched down 1.15 percent in the past one month and closed at ₹1,375.7 at the BSE on September 5, down 0.74 percent from the ₹1,386 level when Reliance Industries (RIL) Chairman and Managing Director Mukesh Ambani announced the proposed Jio listing at the Reliance AGM. [Reliance Industries owns Network 18, the publisher of Forbes India.]

“It will be a landmark IPO—a play on digital infrastructure and consumer tech for the investor. Jio has grown through a disruptive strategy—by building a huge subscriber base, ensuring low cost of data and boosting digital adoption in India. Jio has been instrumental in broadening tech representation beyond just information technology,” Bhavesh Shah, Equirus Capital’s managing director and head of investment banking, tells Forbes India.

He adds: “It was never positioned as just a telecom operator, it has scaled through connectivity and user services to add to its subscriber base. The company has added multiple layers, including games and artificial intelligence to offer a stronger digital play rather than just being a data service provider. Valuation shall be based on subscriber growth potential, ARPU (average revenue per users) and monetisation beyond the telecom business.”

"Jio was never positioned as just a telecom operator, it has scaled through connectivity and user services to add to its subscriber base."