In this week’s wrapup, we talk about the Jio IPO, why Meta is betting on CRED, the bank locker crisis in India, why Singapore is building the gold hub that India wanted to build, and Info Edge’s latest letter to shareholders.

But here’s a quick sidenote before we begin. We’re looking for a business writer to join Finshots’ newsletter team. If you’re someone who can tell compelling stories and explain financial concepts in plain English without drowning readers in jargon, do consider applying through the link here. Or share this with someone who might be a good fit for the role.

With that out of the way, let’s look back at what we wrote this week.

The Jio IPO Explained

Jio is preparing for what could become the biggest IPO in Indian history. But what's surprising isn't the size of the issue. It's the fact that none of its biggest investors, including Meta, Google, KKR, and Silver Lake, are planning to sell a single share. Every rupee raised will go straight into Jio itself.

That naturally raises an interesting question. Why does a company backed by some of the world's largest investors still need billions of dollars from public markets?

The answer lies in what Jio wants to become. While most people still see it as India's largest telecom operator, the company wants investors to value it as a technology business instead. It is pouring money into AI infrastructure, cloud computing, enterprise software, and data centres, hoping its telecom network becomes just the gateway to a much larger digital ecosystem.

So, is this really the IPO of a telecom company, or is Reliance quietly asking investors to value Jio like India's next technology giant? Read Monday’s full story to find out.

Why Meta is betting on CRED

Meta has made plenty of acquisitions over the years. But writing a reported $900 million cheque for CRED is a very different kind of bet. At first, it looks like another investment in one of India's biggest startups. But beneath the surface, it's also a wager on India's rapidly evolving financial ecosystem and CRED's ability to turn its affluent customer base into a much larger financial platform. 

The timing is interesting too. As Big Tech looks for new avenues of growth, financial services have become one of the most valuable battlegrounds. So why is Meta willing to place such a big bet on a company that is still chasing consistent profitability?

In Tuesday's story, we break down what this bet means for Meta and CRED.

The great Indian bank locker shortage

Right now, India has just 60 lakh bank lockers across all public and private banks. But in just a few years, demand could soar to nearly 6 crore lockers. And that's just from affluent Indians, giving you a sense of how severe the shortage really is.

Surprisingly though, banks aren't rushing to add more lockers. In fact, many would rather use that space for something else. So why aren't banks expanding a service that's clearly in such high demand?

Read Wednesday's story to find out.

Why is Singapore building the gold hub that India wanted?

Singapore wants to become Asia's gold hub. At first, that may sound surprising, as India is one of the world's largest consumers of gold. Indian households own an estimated 25,000 tonnes of it, yet when it comes to trading, storing, financing, and moving gold across the world, India still plays a relatively small role.

That's where Singapore sees an opportunity. It is building the infrastructure that powers the global gold trade: vaults, clearing systems, and settlement networks. After all, that's exactly what helped London become the world's gold capital over several decades.

India has already begun with the India International Bullion Exchange (IIBX), and trading volumes have grown rapidly. But building a successful exchange is only one part of the puzzle. Becoming a true global gold hub requires an entire ecosystem built on liquidity, trust, and world-class infrastructure.

Can India still turn its enormous appetite for gold into a leadership position in the global bullion market, or will Singapore get there first?

Read our full story to find out.

Reading between the lines of Info Edge's shareholder letter

In its latest shareholder letter, Info Edge revealed that its startup portfolio is now worth a whopping ₹41,300 crore, thanks largely to its bets on AI, deeptech, and companies like Zomato and Policybazaar. Investors loved it and sent the stock higher.

But hidden inside this letter is an irony that could shape the company's future. The funding for these AI investments mostly comes from Naukri, and AI could eventually disrupt the very business that generates that cash.

So is Info Edge future-proofing itself or quietly funding its biggest threat?

Find out in yesterday's Markets edition.

Finshots Weekly Quiz v2.0 🧠

Hey folks! As you probably already know, the Finshots Weekly Quiz has a new avatar. If you missed out, don’t worry. Click here to check out the rules and start participating in the quiz today to stand a chance of making it to July’s leaderboard, and maybe even winning some merch!

But for now, it’s time to announce the top scorers for this month. There were a whole bunch of you who participated, and many of you ended up with the same scores. So we’re calling you Bulls, Bears, Unicorns, Blue Chips, and Rising Stars. Here’s how the leaderboard looks right now:

As you can see, we have five top scorers fighting for the merch. But unfortunately, there’s just one merch box to be won every month.

So to break the tie, we’ll be sending a tie-breaker question to all the “Bulls” via email. Keep an eye on your inbox! The one who gets it right the fastest wins the exclusive Finshots merch for June 2026, and we’ll reveal the winner’s name next week.

And to the rest of you whose names made it to the leaderboard, congratulations! You may not have won the merch this time, but you showed up consistently and earned a spot on Finshots’ weekly leaderboard. That’s pretty cool.

So don’t lose hope. Hit the reset button this month and keep answering all the weekly quizzes. Who knows? You might just be the winner this time around.

Click on this link to take this week’s quiz, which is open till 12 noon, Friday, 3rd of July, 2026. The more answers you get right, the better your chances of appearing on the Finshots Weekly Quiz leaderboard. We’ll publish it every Saturday in the Weekly Wrapup. And the winner will be announced in the first week of August.

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