Jio: Reliance Industries, led by billionaire Mukesh Ambani, is reportedly planning to list its digital financial services unit, Jio Financial Services, as early as October this year. The conglomerate is said to be in discussions with Indian regulators to obtain the necessary approvals for the IPO launch in Mumbai.
One of the sources said that the company, which is headed by the billionaire Mukesh Ambani, is in discussions with Indian authorities to acquire the required licenses for the market debut of Jio Financial Services Ltd. in Mumbai. This person asked not to be named because the information is confidential. According to a filing that was made with the exchange in March, the parent company will be having a meeting of shareholders and creditors on May 2 in order to vote on the proposal to spin off and list the unit.
According to the source, deliberations are still going on, so the specifics of the listing might end up being different. A spokesman from Reliance Industries refused to comment on the matter.
A listing would put Reliance in the position to strengthen its emerging footprint in the financial services industry by capitalizing on its expanding consumer activities. These operations include India’s biggest cellular provider and its largest retailer. As the group continues to diversify its operations beyond its oil refining roots, it announced in 2019 that it would move toward a listing for the retail and telecommunications arms within the next five years. The group is led by the richest person in Asia.
In November, Reliance announced the appointment of K. V. Kamath to the position of non-executive chairman of Jio Financial. According to a story from Bloomberg News from the previous month, it has chosen Hitesh Sethia, a senior executive from McLaren Strategic Ventures, to serve as the chief executive officer of the business.
Jio Financial “will be a technology-led business, delivering financial products digitally by leveraging the nationwide omni-channel presence of Reliance’s consumer businesses,” Ambani said in a statement last year when announcing the separation of the company. Jio Financial was announcing the spinoff of the company.
For every share of Reliance that a shareholder owns, they will be entitled to acquire one share in the newly listed Jio Financial Company.
The parent company, Reliance Industries, has called for a meeting of shareholders and creditors on May 2 to vote on the plan to spin off and list Jio Financial Services. Each Reliance shareholder will receive one share of Jio Financial in the listing for every share they own.
However, the listing is subject to regulatory approval, and the details of the IPO may change as discussions are ongoing. Nevertheless, if successful, the IPO could help Reliance reduce its debt burden and provide a significant boost to the Indian financial services sector.
- According to sources, Reliance is looking to raise around $2 billion through the IPO, which would value Jio Financial Services at $20 billion.
- Jio Financial Services is expected to offer a range of financial products and services, including digital payments, loans, insurance, and wealth management.
- The move to list Jio Financial Services comes at a time when India’s digital payments industry is growing rapidly. The country is expected to have over 1 billion mobile subscribers by 2024, with many of them using mobile wallets and other digital payment services.
- Reliance has been expanding its digital businesses in recent years, with Jio Platforms, the conglomerate’s digital services arm, raising over $20 billion in funding from global investors in 2020.