Global: Paytm Founder Open to Increasing Stake in Indian Payments Firm

Vijay Shekhar Sharma, the founder and CEO of Paytm (PAYT.NS), has expressed his willingness to increase his stake in the Indian fintech company, provided there are willing sellers. This statement comes after Sharma became the largest shareholder in the company by acquiring shares from the Chinese firm Antfin, a move that was part of broader concerns surrounding Chinese ownership in Indian financial technology firms.

Currently, Sharma holds a 19.42% stake in Paytm following his acquisition of shares from Antfin. He emphasized that Paytm is genuinely an Indian company and expressed his delight in acquiring a larger stake in his own company.

While Antfin has not indicated any plans to sell additional stakes at the moment, Sharma stated that if they decide to do so, he would eagerly seize the opportunity to acquire more equity in Paytm.

Antfin’s reduction in its stake followed Alibaba’s complete exit from Paytm in February. Japan’s Softbank Group Corp has also been gradually reducing its stake in Paytm through open market transactions.

Paytm is actively focusing on its payments and credit business, with an aim to achieve significant free cash flow soon, according to Sharma.

In addition to these developments, Paytm recently introduced a $12 “soundbox” device designed to enable merchants to accept payments through various networks, including Visa, Mastercard, American Express, and the domestic RuPay network. This device provides instant audio alerts for payments made to merchants, enhancing the payment experience.

Paytm competes with players like Google Pay and Walmart’s PhonePe in India, where digital payments gained prominence following the government’s decision to ban high-value currency notes in 2016. Digital payments are now accepted by merchants ranging from small vegetable vendors to large retail stores.

The company’s primary focus is to onboard as many merchants as possible and engage with them, leveraging the popularity of the soundbox device, as stated by Sharma.

Paytm’s shares experienced minimal changes in value on Monday, partially recovering from earlier losses. Despite a significant rebound from November lows, the stock remains approximately 60% below its IPO issue price of 2,150 rupees.