Ambani’s financial services unit has tepid start in Mumbai debut

MUMBAI – Shares of Jio Financial Services, a recently spun off unit of Indian conglomerate Reliance Industries, made a weak start in a widely watched trading debut on Monday.

Jio Financial’s stock ended 5 per cent lower at 248.90 rupees after opening at 265 rupees. Shares were priced at 261.85 rupees apiece via an hour-long special trading session in July, valuing the company at about US$20 billion (S$27 billion).

Reliance offered one share of Jio Financial for every share owned by the firm’s investors. The new company will unlock value for shareholders and give them an opportunity to be a part of a new growth platform, billionaire owner Mukesh Ambani said in Reliance’s most recent annual report.

Jio Financial, which as yet boasts of little revenue but owns a 6.1 per cent stake in Reliance, has announced a partnership with BlackRock to set up an Indian asset management venture.

Analysts expect the company to benefit from Reliance’s wider presence in digital and retail businesses, potentially positioning it among India’s biggest non-banking finance companies and helping Ambani create an empire similar to China’s Alibaba Group Holding and Tencent Holdings. BLOOMBERG