iWorld
Amazon Prime Video rates cheapest in India
MUMBAI: A recent study has found online streaming platform Amazon Prime Video is the cheapest in India. On the contrary, the service is most expensive in its home country United States. In a study by technology research firm Comparitech Ltd, India has been found as the cheapest place to watch Amazon Prime Video among 28 countries.
“If we compare the overall cost per month of Amazon Prime Video around the world, India is by far the cheapest place to get it. At a cost of just $1.76 (£1.37) per month, it’s $11.23 or £4.62 cheaper than the US or UK, respectively,” the study said. Amazon Prime Video is 115 per cent cheaper in India than the average with a library of 2,351 titles, including movies, shows and documentaries.
Japan, Brazil, Australia and Mexico follow India successively in the cheapest list. Indians can enjoy the service at Rs 129 while in US it costs $12.99.The annual membership plan comes at a discounted price of Rs 999 besides a free one-month trial. Moreover, telco players like Vodafone, Airtel also offer free Prime subscription under certain deals.
Germany, Austria, Switzerland and the UK follow the US in the list of most expensive countries to get Amazon Prime Video. However, the report says Americans, along with paying the highest amount, also get to watch the most number of movies and TV shows on the over-the-top platform. In India, the platform’s library consists of close to 2,000 movies and about 400 shows.
The study also found that Indian subscribers to Amazon Prime Video also pay one of the lowest rates per title, 137 per cent less than the worldwide average on a per title basis.
iWorld
Jio IPO faces delay as India yet to clear listing rule changes
Proposed rule change allows mega IPOs to float just 2.5 per cent
MUMBAI: The Indian government’s delay in formalising changes to listing rules may derail the targeted timeline for the initial public offering (IPO) of Jio Platforms, the digital arm of Reliance Industries controlled by billionaire Mukesh Ambani.
According to media reports, Reliance is awaiting formal notification of regulatory amendments before appointing investment bankers and filing a draft IPO prospectus. The company is now aiming to submit the draft prospectus before April, depending on when the government issues the notification.
Jio, which owns India’s largest wireless operator, is widely seen as one of the crown jewels of Ambani’s business empire. Its listing, the first public offering of a major Reliance unit in nearly two decades, could become the country’s biggest ever IPO.
Investment bankers have proposed a valuation of as much as $170 billion for the company. Even the minimum stake sale could raise roughly $4.3 billion, potentially placing Jio among India’s most valuable listed companies.
Ambani had earlier said that Reliance was targeting a listing of Jio in the first half of 2026, a plan first outlined in 2019 with a five-year timeline. In 2020, global technology groups Meta Platforms and Alphabet invested more than $10 billion combined in the company.
The delay stems from pending regulatory changes approved by the Securities and Exchange Board of India in September. The amendments allow companies with a post-issue market capitalisation exceeding Rs 5 trillion (about $55 billion) to float as little as 2.5 per cent of equity in an IPO, compared with the current 5 per cent minimum.
Such changes are expected to enable mega listings, including potential offerings by Jio and the National Stock Exchange of India. However, the reforms still require formal notification from the government.
Meanwhile, the National Stock Exchange is moving ahead with plans to raise as much as $2.5 billion through its own IPO and has recently invited banks to pitch for roles in the offering.
