India's primary market is headed for a blockbuster week, with two companies looking to raise a combined Rs 31,663 crore through initial public offerings (IPOs), led by Mukesh Ambani's Reliance Jio Platforms. The telecom and digital services company is set to launch the country's biggest-ever public issue. The coming week will also see nine companies make their stock market debut, including six on the mainboard.
Jio Platforms alone accounts for Rs 30,213 crore of the total fundraising planned for the week, while hospital chain Paras Healthcare will seek to raise Rs 1,450 crore. Both IPOs will open for public subscription on Wednesday, October 21, and close on Friday, October 23.
The IPO rush follows a busy week in the primary market, during which six mainboard companies, including Zetwerk, Tonbo Imaging, Fusion CX and Bonfiglioli Transmissions, launched their offerings.
Of the nine companies scheduled to list next week, six will debut on the BSE and NSE mainboards, while three will enter the SME platforms. The companies span sectors including technology, manufacturing, healthcare, defence and industrial equipment.
Tuesday, October 20, will be a stock market holiday on account of Dussehra.
The biggest attraction of the week will be Jio Platforms' Rs 30,213 crore IPO, which is expected to surpass Hyundai Motor India's Rs 27,900 crore offering in 2024 to become India's largest public issue.
The telecom and digital services company has fixed a price band of Rs 1,065-1,119 per share, with investors able to bid for a minimum of 12 shares. At the upper end of the price band, the minimum retail investment works out to Rs 13,428.
In the grey market, the company is commanding a healthy premium of Rs 220, which indicates about a 20% premium to the offer price.
The anchor investor book will open on October 19, ahead of the public issue on October 21. Share allotment is expected to be finalised on October 26, while the stock is tentatively scheduled to list on October 28.
The IPO will comprise 27 crore fresh equity shares, with no offer-for-sale component. This means the money raised will go to Jio Platforms, while existing shareholders, including Reliance Industries, Meta and Google, will retain their holdings.
Jio plans to use up to Rs 27,500 crore of the net IPO proceeds to repay or prepay borrowings at its telecom subsidiary, Reliance Jio Infocomm. Akash Ambani, managing director of Jio Platforms, recently said the debt reduction would help the company move towards becoming net debt-free.
At the upper price band, Jio Platforms is seeking a valuation of about Rs 10.3 lakh crore, making it one of India's most valuable companies.
Jio has emerged as India's largest telecom operator by subscriber base since its launch in 2016, with more than 530 million customers. The company reported a profit of Rs 30,049 crore in FY26.
The company is also betting on opportunities in home broadband, enterprise services, cloud computing and artificial intelligence to support future growth. Akash Ambani recently said Jio was looking to capture a substantial share of India's digital economy, which he expects to reach $1.4 trillion by FY31.
The IPO also has a special reservation worth up to Rs 2,500 crore for eligible Reliance Industries shareholders and Rs 500 crore for Jio employees. Eligible employees will receive a discount of Rs 54 per share.
Paras Healthcare will be the other company tapping the primary market next week, with its Rs 1,450 crore IPO opening on October 21 and closing on October 23. The healthcare company has fixed a price band of Rs 660-693 per share. Investors can bid for a minimum of 21 shares and in multiples thereafter, translating into a minimum retail investment of Rs 14,553 at the upper end of the price band.
The issue comprises a fresh issue worth Rs 500 crore and an offer for sale worth Rs 950 crore by existing shareholders. At the upper price band, Paras Healthcare would command a market capitalisation of approximately Rs 7,498 crore.
The company operates eight hospitals under the Paras Health brand, with a combined capacity of 2,211 beds as of June 30, 2026. Its network spans Gurugram, Panchkula, Patna, Darbhanga, Kanpur, Udaipur, Ranchi and Srinagar.
The hospital chain specialises in cardiac sciences, oncology, neurosciences, orthopaedics, gastro sciences and renal sciences, among other areas.
Paras Healthcare plans to expand its network with a 300-bed hospital in Gurugram and a 500-bed facility in Ludhiana, taking its total capacity to 3,011 beds by March 2028.
The company reported a profit of Rs 43.83 crore in FY26, compared with a loss of Rs 57.98 crore in FY25. Its total income increased to Rs 1,628.78 crore from Rs 1,314.21 crore during the same period.
The basis of allotment is expected to be finalised on October 26, with shares tentatively scheduled to list on October 28. JM Financial is the book-running lead manager for the issue.
9 IPO listings scheduled next week
Apart from the two fresh offerings, investors will have nine IPO listings to track during the week. Six companies will list on the mainboard, with HD Fire Protect scheduled to make its market debut on October 21, followed by Fusion CX on October 22.
Four mainboard IPOs are scheduled to list on October 23: Tonbo Imaging India, Zetwerk Manufacturing Business, Bonfiglioli Transmissions and Sahajanand Medical Technologies. These four companies will also close their IPO subscriptions on Monday, October 19, making it an important day for investors who have yet to place their bids.
The SME segment will see three listings. Vaibhav Vyapaar is scheduled to debut on October 21, Ravita Engineering Services on October 22 and Shellz India on October 23. Shellz India's IPO will also close for subscription on October 19.
Disclosure: This article has been written by Podishetti Akash, who is not a SEBI-registered Research Analyst or an Investment Adviser. Podishetti Akash and his ‘relative(s)’ (as defined under Section 2(77) of the Companies Act, 2013) do not hold any financial interest in the companies mentioned in this article as of the date of publication. The views/recommendations mentioned in this article, wherever applicable, are those of the respective SEBI-registered Research Analyst/brokerage and have been reproduced/reported with due attribution. They should not be construed as the views or recommendations of The Economic Times Digital or the journalist. Readers are advised to consider the original research report and make their investment decisions based on their own assessment. Brokerage disclosures here.
