RIL chairman Mukesh Ambani may launch Reliance Jio IPO by late 2018

After reporting operating profit in the first quarter of commercial operations of Jio, Mukesh Ambani-led Reliance Industries Limited (RIL) is planning to go for IPO by next year-end, said a report.

The company has invested $31 billion in its telecom venture, which was launched in September 2016. Owing to its cheaper offers, the company has 138.6 million subscriptions as of September 30, 2017, adding 15.3 million subscriptions in the quarter and consolidating its position as the fourth largest telecom operator in the country.

It had posted a net loss of just Rs 270.59 crore for the quarter ended September on revenue of Rs 6,147 crore, with positive earnings before interest and tax (ebit), helped by strong user additions and cost efficiencies.

It recorded the highest per capita data consumption at 9.62 GB/user/month and the highest per capita voice consumption at 626 minutes per month along with 1.78 billion hours of high-speed video consumption a month. The total wireless data traffic in the quarter was at 3.78 billion GB, far higher than its more established rivals such as Bharti Airtel.

On December 1, RIL chairman Mukesh Ambani said that Jio is ahead of its schedule in terms of its returns and it would break even in the next few quarters. Some analysts also expect Jio to post a profit at the net level as early as the fiscal third quarter ending December 31. Ambani pointed Technology and energy will be key to development.

Besides, to lure more customers, the company is offering a $23 mobile that offers 4G data plans that cost as low as Rs 23 for two days or Rs 153 monthly.

Jio is accused of having disrupted India’s telecom sector with their ultra cheap offerings that made data available to millions of Indians. India in terms of the data infra will be ahead of the US by 2019, Ambani had added. It’s also planning to set up a technology incubator and invest $25 million in Israel.