Mukesh Ambani's Jio IPO Delayed By Regulatory Limbo

The government's delays in formalising changes to listing rules are threatening to force Asia's richest person, Mukesh Ambani, to miss the targeted timeline for an initial public offering of shares in Jio Platforms Ltd., the digital arm of his flagship company Reliance Industries Ltd.

Reliance is waiting for the government to formalise the changes backed by the regulator to appoint bankers formally and file a draft IPO prospectus, according to people familiar with the matter who asked not to be identified because the discussions are private. The company is now aiming to file the draft prospectus before April, depending on the government notification, they said.

Jio, which owns India's largest wireless operator, is one of the crown jewels of Ambani's empire and its IPO - the first listing of a major Reliance unit in almost 20 years - could be the country's biggest ever. Investment bankers have proposed a valuation of as much as $170 billion for the company, which would offer a rare opportunity for investors to buy into one of the world's biggest growth stories of the past decade.

Ambani said in August that Reliance was aiming to list Jio in the first half of 2026, a plan he had first signaled 2019 - back then with a five-year timeline. A top-end valuation could raise about $4.3 billion by selling the minimum stake and would place the company among the biggest companies in India by market value. Meta Platforms Inc. and Alphabet Inc. announced investments totaling more than $10 billion in Jio in 2020.

Deliberations are ongoing and details of the offering, including timing and size, may change, the people said. Reliance Industries declined to immediately comment. Representatives for the finance ministry didn't immediately respond to requests for comment.

The Securities and Exchange Board of India in September approved amendments to its regulations, allowing companies with a post-issue market capitalisation exceeding 5 trillion rupees ($55 billion) to dilute as little as 2.5% in an IPO, rather than the current minimum of 5%. The rule change is a possible catalyst for mega listings such as Jio and National Stock Exchange of India, but doesn't yet have final government approval.

It's unclear what the holdup is and there's no indication that the delay is targeting the Jio IPO in particular.

The next step, which can usually take as long as a few months depending on government deliberations, is for the finance ministry to formally incorporate the changes and announce them in the Official Gazette, said Sonam Chandwani, managing partner at KS Legal & Associates.

"While the regulator has paved the way, the industry is now awaiting the final gazette notification, which we expect to see materialise in the first half of 2026," said Ankita Singh, founder of Sarvaank Associates, a law firm.

NSE, meanwhile, is proceeding with plans to raise as much as $2.5 billion in an IPO. The company last month invited banks to pitch for roles in the offering. The two share sales would provide a much-needed shot in the arm for the Indian market, where listings have struggled to start 2026 after two consecutive years of record fundraising.