RIL shares rise nearly 3% as Jio IPO draws strong early bids

Reliance Industries shares rose nearly 3% to Rs 1,234 on the NSE on Wednesday, October 21, as Jio Platforms’ Rs 30,213 crore initial public offering attracted enough bids to cover the issue within an hour of opening, Economic Times Markets reported. The move took RIL more than 7% above its 52-week low of Rs 1,152, reached the previous week.

Institutional investors led the early demand: the qualified institutional buyer category was subscribed around four times at approximately 11:40 am, according to the report. These figures represent a reported intraday snapshot, not a live market update.

Jio’s offer implies a Rs 10.3 lakh crore valuation

The public offer carries a price band of Rs 1,065–1,119 per share and is scheduled to close on October 23. At the upper end, it values Jio Platforms at Rs 10.3 lakh crore.

The report put the premium on Jio’s unlisted shares in the grey market at around 25% above the IPO price. Grey-market prices are unofficial indications rather than an assurance of the price at which shares will list.

Analysts differ on further value for Reliance investors

Arpit Jain, joint managing director of Arihant Capital Markets, estimated that Reliance’s Jio stake would have an attributable value of about Rs 4.65 lakh crore after applying a 30% holding-company discount. That figure is an analyst’s valuation estimate, not proceeds that Reliance would necessarily receive from the offering.

Jain’s investment case also rests on the other businesses available through RIL: retail, oil-to-chemicals, new energy and media. In his assessment, Reliance offers diversified exposure and possible value-unlocking opportunities across those operations, whereas Jio offers a more concentrated investment in India’s digital and technology sector.

Paresh Bhagat, chairman of Mangal Keshav Financial Services, took a more cautious position. He assessed that the expected advantages of Jio’s listing were already largely reflected in Reliance’s share price, leaving limited scope for significant additional value unlocking from the event.

Bhagat said Reliance’s business mix supports earnings stability, but returns would still depend on the performance of its energy operations and other divisions. The two assessments underline that strong subscription demand for Jio does not, by itself, settle the valuation case for its parent.

The rebound follows a weak year for RIL

Despite gaining more than 4% over the week, RIL remained down around 2% over a month and 22% in 2026, the report said. Its shares had lost 16% over the preceding year.

Over longer periods, the reported share-price gain was just over 6% across three years, while the five-year change was a decline of around 7%. The latest rise therefore sits alongside a substantially weaker recent price record, rather than reversing it.