Jio Financial IPO drops in debut

Jio Financial Services, a spinoff of Indian billionaire Mukesh Ambani's Reliance empire, fell Monday in its first day of trading on India's National Stock Exchange, valuing the business at $19 billion.

Why it matters: This is the first big, multibillion fintech IPO since that window closed in 2021.

Details: Shares of the company fell 5%, the most a stock can drop in a single session. The business had previously been valued at $20.5 billion when determining its issue price.

Background: Jio Financial Services, whose origins can be traced to 1999, does not take deposits. It does, however, offer insurance brokerage services and has inked a plan to launch an asset management business with BlackRock.

Context: After a staggering 59 fintech companies raised a record $34.2 billion in 2021, just two went public in 2022, data from FT Partners show.

• Another two fintechs have gone public in the first half of 2023, both abroad. CAB Payments listed in London with a $1.3 billion valuation in July, while Transaction Media Networks listed in Japan and is now valued at about $280 million.

Bottom line: The U.S. market has been slow to come back with fintech IPOs, but the pipeline is starting to flow.