On Monday, Jio Platforms Ltd tapped into record institutional demand when it allocated shares worth ₹8,110 crore in its initial public offer to anchor investors among top names in the global finance.
Financial institutions and brokerages are stepping up efforts to draw retail investors into the ₹30,213-crore IPO, as syndicate bankers aim for strong retail demand and a successful listing. “Platforms have been asked to focus their outreach on active as well as inactive trading accounts to build retail volume,” said a person familiar with the matter, who asked not to be identified because the details are private. “The effort aims to sustain retail buying interest through the listing date.”
The push comes at a time when the broader Indian market is gripped by negative sentiment, with the benchmark Nifty 50 down more than 10% this year, making it one of Asia’s worst-performing indexes.“Considering the size of the book and the lacklustre market conditions, good retail participation will be important to ensure a listing pop,” said a person involved in syndicating the offer.
Investors such as Life Insurance Corp. of India, BlackRock Inc., Fidelity Management & Research, Capital Group and Allianz SE, besides sovereign wealth funds, including the Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, the Government of Singapore, the Qatar Investment Authority and Norges Bank Investment Management have taken anchor positions in the offer, a stock exchange filing by Jio Platforms showed.
Brokerages and non-banking financial companies, including SBI Securities Ltd and Jio Financial Services Ltd, are advertising short-term loans to investors through apps and text messages to help them participate in the IPO.