Jio Platforms will launch its initial public offering on October 21. Investors can apply through various categories, including retail, non-institutional, and qualified institutional buyers. The company also reserved portions for eligible Reliance Industries shareholders and employees. With 15 different investment options available, applicants must carefully choose their category before bidding starts.

As telecom major Jio Platforms prepares to launch its initial public offering (IPO) on October 21, investors have several routes through which they can apply for the issue, based on the size of their bids and eligibility across categories.

Apart from the regular retail, non-institutional investor (NII) and qualified institutional buyer (QIB) categories, Jio Platforms' IPO has reserved portions for any eligible shareholders of Reliance Industries along with Reliance Industries (RIL) and Jio Platforms' employees.

Therefore, this has led to a series of permutations for eligible shareholders and employees applying for the issue, with 15 different investment options available.

Shareholder category

A shareholder quota reserves a portion of an IPO for eligible shareholders of a specified company. For the Jio Platforms issue, the firm has reserved Rs 2,500 crore of its Rs 30,213 crore for shareholders of Reliance Industries. The maximum size of bids for this category is Rs 2 lakh, with no minimum stated size.

Those planning to apply under Reliance Industries shareholder category had to buy RIL shares by October 13, a day before the October 14 eligibility cut-off date announced by the company.

Employee category

Employees of Reliance Industries, Jio Platforms and Jio Platforms' subsidiaries have a portion of Rs 500 crore reserved in the issue. However, no other RIL group companies are eligible to apply under this category.

Eligible employees can select the employee category while applying, subject to the IPO's terms. The maximum size of bids for this category is Rs 5 lakh, with no minimum stated size.

Retail or NII?

The markets regulator SEBI does not permit investors to bid in the retail as well as NII categories. As a result, investors must choose between the retail (under Rs 2 lakh) and non-institutional investor (NII) categories (when the bid exceeds Rs 2 lakh).