MUMBAI: In the biggest reshuffle in the country’s corporate rankings in decades, Reliance Industries (RIL) Group is all set to overtake Tata Group as India’s most valuable conglomerate, once Jio Platforms lists.The proposed listing, at an estimated valuation of Rs 10.3 lakh crore at the upper end of the Rs 1,065-1,119 per share price band, would lift RIL Group’s market capitalisation to about Rs 28.5 lakh crore, ahead of Tata Group’s Rs 25.5 lakh crore as of Oct 15, according to ET Intelligence data.RIL Group stood at Rs 18.2 lakh crore before the listing. The Jio Platforms IPO is expected to raise Rs 30,188 crore, making it India’s largest primary offering. It is RIL Group’s first IPO in nearly two decades.“RIL Group, after Jio’s listing, will be India’s largest conglomerate by market cap under the leadership of Mukesh Ambani,” Uday Kotak said at the Jio Platforms media briefing.Jio carries more than 60% of India’s data traffic: AkashBanker Uday Kotak hailed the Jio Platfoms IPO as “a testament to the development of the next generation of leadership”, naming Akash and Isha Ambani.The Adani Group currently ranks third with a market cap of Rs 17.48 lakh crore, followed by HDFC Group at Rs 13.91 lakh crore and Bajaj Group at Rs 13.88 lakh crore, according to ET Intelligence.An analyst said the listing would do more than raise capital. “Currently, Jio’s value is embedded within Reliance Industries. A separate listing will unlock that holding company discount,” he said. The combined market capitalisation of Reliance Industries and Jio Platforms would put clear daylight between the RIL and Tata groups, the analyst added. Isha Ambani said the idea for Jio emerged around 2009-10, when she and her twin brother, Akash, returned to Mumbai from college in the US. “I had an assignment to submit online. I tried to submit the assignment, but unfortunately the internet did not work, and I couldn’t submit it,” she said. The episode convinced Akash that India needed a digital technology platform company. Jio launched in 2016.Akash Ambani said Jio went from “the 14th operator to enter the market in 2016” to become India’s largest telecom operator, carrying more than 60% of India’s data traffic.
