Jio Platforms shares rise again as Ambani family controls India's two largest firms

Jio Platforms shares opened 3.3 percent higher on Thursday, extending a rally that began with the company's initial public offering debut the previous day. The stock price increase pushed the market capitalization of the digital services and telecom firm to 13.05 trillion rupees, or 137.1 billion dollars.

Mukesh Ambani now owns the two most valuable companies in India. His flagship firm, Reliance Industries, retains a stake of more than 64 percent in Jio Platforms. This ownership structure places the Ambani family's combined business interests at the top of the national corporate hierarchy.

According to a Bloomberg report, the valuation surge allowed the Reliance Group to surpass the Tata Group. The Reliance conglomerate now holds a market value of 30 trillion rupees, compared with 25 trillion rupees for the Tata Group. This shift marks the Ambani family business as the leading conglomerate in the country.

During a pre-listing ceremony on Wednesday, Mukesh Ambani was seen tearing up as his three children detailed the company's history. Akash Ambani, the eldest son and managing director of Jio Platforms, outlined future growth strategies. He stated that the company aims to democratize technology over the next decade, focusing on artificial intelligence, cloud computing, connected devices, and satellite connectivity.

Analysts noted that the IPO proceeds will be used to retire approximately 300 billion rupees of legacy debt. Anurag Singh, founder and managing partner of Ansid Capital, told CNBC that this debt reduction occurred with only a 3 percent dilution of shares. He compared Jio's new valuation to that of American telecom giants AT&T and Verizon, which have market caps of 139 billion and 179 billion dollars, respectively.

Vaqaarjaved Khan, a senior analyst at Angel One, described Jio as bringing rare scale to Indian equities. He cited a customer base exceeding 500 million, operating margins of 52 percent, and net leverage of 0.36 times. Khan added that at a price-to-earnings ratio of 34 times, much of the company's quality is already priced in, with future returns dependent on improved average revenue per user and AI services.

The listing also reignited tension with Elon Musk. The SpaceX chief had previously blamed the Ambani family for delays in launching Starlink in India earlier this month. Jio's plans to enter the satellite communications market were cited as a primary factor in that dispute.