Ambani’s financial services unit has weak start in Mumbai debut session

Shares of Jio Financial Services Ltd., a recently spun off unit of Reliance Industries Ltd., made a weak start in a widely watched trading debut on Monday.

Jio Financial’s stock dropped to as low as 248.90 rupees early in the session after opening at 265 rupees. Shares were priced at 261.85 rupees apiece via an hour-long special trading session last month, valuing the company at about $20 billion.

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Reliance offered one share of Jio Financial for every share owned by the firm’s investors. The new company will unlock value for shareholders and give them an opportunity to be a part of a new growth platform, billionaire owner Mukesh Ambani said in Reliance’s most recent annual report.

Jio Financial, which as yet boasts of little revenue but owns a 6.1 percent stake in Reliance, has announced a partnership with BlackRock Inc. to set up an Indian asset management venture.

Analysts expect the company to benefit from Reliance’s wider presence in digital and retail businesses, potentially positioning it among India’s biggest non-banking finance companies and helping Ambani create an empire similar to China’s Alibaba Group Holding Ltd. and Tencent Holdings Ltd.

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