India's largest IPO in history may end the era of ultra-cheap internet in the country
Jio will likely no longer be able to engage in price dumping and will aggressively focus on increasing profits
Jio, whose investors include Meta and Google, revolutionized India's telecom sector in 2016. By slashing gigabyte prices, it forced 14 out of 17 operators out of the market, leaving only the three largest players and amassing a staggering user base of 553 million subscribers. Today, Jio controls 60% of India's mobile internet traffic and holds the largest 5G user base outside China.
Experts agree that after its IPO, Jio will no longer be able to maintain artificially low prices. As a public company, it will be obligated to demonstrate growth in average revenue per user (ARPU) to shareholders.
Jio's abandonment of aggressive price dumping, in turn, will free its competitors to raise tariffs and improve their financial positions.
For private and institutional investors, this is a legendary event: the conglomerate Reliance Industries has not taken any of its subsidiaries public in over two decades, and the historical return on the parent company's shares has been around 30% annually for 30 years.
Indian users will have to prepare for higher bills for connectivity, but investors gain a unique opportunity to invest in a company that is effectively the 'digital engine' of India's entire economy.
