Investment bankers are valuing Jio Platforms Ltd. at up to $170 billion, as the company prepares for what could become one of India’s biggest-ever IPOs under Reliance Industries’ telecom arm, according to a Bloomberg report. The news comes at a time when Asian and European markets are trading in positive territory, adding to overall market optimism.

Bankers are still in discussions, and current estimates place Jio’s valuation between $130 billion and $170 billion. If Jio manages to achieve the higher end of this range, it would rank among the top two or three most valuable companies in India, surpassing rival telecom major Bharti Airtel, which is valued at around ₹12.7 lakh crore ($143 billion). For context, Reliance Industries, led by Mukesh Ambani, currently has a market capitalisation of about ₹20 lakh crore.

Jio Financial highlights

Jio Platforms delivered a strong performance in the September quarter, reporting a 13% jump in net profit to ₹7,379 crore, supported by higher data consumption and a growing customer base. Revenue from operations also rose 15% year-on-year to ₹36,332 crore, compared with ₹31,709 crore in the same quarter last year.

Profitability continued to improve, with Average Revenue Per User (ARPU) increasing 8.4% year-on-year to ₹211.4, up from ₹195.1. On a quarter-on-quarter basis, ARPU edged up 1.24% from ₹208.8.

Jio’s growth momentum remained strong on the user front as well. Its 5G subscriber base surged to 234 million, while total home connections reached 22.7 million, with more than one million new connections being added every month. Meanwhile, JioAirFiber continued to gain traction, expanding its subscriber base to nearly 9.5 million worldwide.