NEWSMAKER-Ambani's heir Akash steps into the spotlight as India's Jio goes public

In Asia’s richest family which controls the oil-to-retail Reliance empire, Mukesh ‌Ambani shed ​tears of pride on Wednesday as the telecom and digital unit run by his eldest son Akash made its market debut, capping the 35-year-old’s meteoric rise. Akash Ambani is the managing director of Jio Platforms, which became the second-largest company by market capitalisation in India as its stock opened 21% higher, trailing only its parent, Reliance.

Though ‌Ambani senior still chairs the holding company Jio Platforms, Akash was anointed chairman of its money-spinning telecoms unit in 2022, in what was widely seen as part of the billionaire’s succession planning. "The three of us have taken the baton from your ever loving and supporting hands and we will spend our lives proving worthy of it," Akash, speaking from the stage, told his father at Wednesday's listing ceremony, referring to himself and his siblings.

Mukesh Ambani, who did not speak ‌at the event, was seen in tears. Industry executives who work with Akash described him as an extremely approachable executive who is very hands-on with technology.

While Akash weighs in on "some of the bigger calls", he doesn't interfere in ‌day-to-day business decisions. But he does deal with their most marquee investors including Meta, said one executive, who has worked closely on the IPO and with Akash. "He is the one who makes the calls to Mark Zuckerberg," the executive added.

Meta is among Jio's largest shareholders with a near 10% stake. In 2020, it joined Google and other global investors in putting 1.52 trillion rupees into the company, worth $20.5 billion at the time. However, Akash and his father -- who are both night owls -- manage investor relationships separately, the industry executive said. Mukesh is closer ⁠to many sovereign ​wealth funds, while his son takes the position as Reliance's ⁠Silicon Valley man.

Reliance and Meta did not respond to Reuters queries. CREATING THE RELIANCE BRAND

Akash holds a bachelor’s in Economics from Brown University in the US and, as an avid sports enthusiast, plays a key role in the management of an Indian Premier League cricket ⁠franchise. Married in 2019, he has two children. Last week, bids for Reliance's first IPO in 20 years surpassed the 2008 issue of Reliance Power, part of his uncle Anil's group. The retail tranche was covered 2.7 times, while bids from employees and existing ​Reliance shareholders reached 2.93 and 7.6 times the shares on offer, respectively.

That interest from small investors was reminiscent of how Akash's grandfather Dhirubhai Ambani, who died in 2002, built Reliance's brand image with ⁠shareholders, holding large-scale meets in Mumbai’s open grounds in the 1980s that turned Reliance into a company that helps create long-term wealth. The conglomerate's Mumbai-listed shares, which have a current market capitalization of over $170 billion, have risen 330-fold since 1990.

On Wednesday, a garlanded portrait of a smiling Dhirubhai was propped ⁠on ​an easel, while the family rang the opening bell. JUST A TELCO?

Jio's telecoms business was launched in 2016 and disrupted the market by offering free voice and data. Today, on the basis of customers in a single country, Jio's 500 million-plus users are second only to China Mobile. Jio Platforms says Akash is leading its long-term "strategic roadmap to transform connectivity and digital services in India" from 4G to 5G and now AI. The company offers ⁠apps, digital services and home devices, but telecoms still brings in nearly 90% of its $15.45 billion revenue and around 94% of its profit.

Akash and Jio appear keen to dispel the notion that Jio is just a ⁠telecoms company. The first line of the company overview in ⁠its prospectus reads: "We are a technology platform." Asked about rivalry with Bharti Airtel and Vodafone Idea, Akash told the Business Standard newspaper recently that "Jio is not just a telco," but a digital services company built on connectivity.

At the event earlier this month, he talked up plans to offer AI-powered call summaries and transcription in 12 Indian languages ‌to Jio’s users, saying, "We’re the only ‌play in town that can do that." "What we have is an innate understanding of our Jio customers," he said.