NEW DELHI: Billionaire Vijay Shekhar Sharma, the founder and chief government officer of India’s largest digital funds firm, mentioned he’ll look to boost his stake as Paytm approaches profitability.
“There is never a day that I would not buy more equity in Paytm,” Sharma advised Bloomberg Information in an interview on Monday. “The single largest shareholder of Paytm is now an Indian, that is myself, and I believe this is definitely a key milestone.”
Sharma turned the largest investor in Paytm, formally known as One97 Communications Ltd, after he acquired shares from China’s Ant Group Co, in line with a disclosure on Sunday. Sharma holds 19.42% of the corporate, changing AntFin, which now owns 9.9%.
The transfer helps assuage considerations {that a} distinguished Chinese language firm was operating one in every of India’s best-known tech corporations at a time tensions between the 2 international locations are rising.
Paytm, headquartered on the outskirts of New Delhi, will proceed to construct its funds companies, together with credit score choices, because it inches nearer to profitability, Sharma mentioned. The corporate, which additionally counts SoftBank Group amongst its backers, mentioned in February it had achieved working profitability earlier than the price of worker inventory possession plan.
“The company is relentlessly focused on generating and earning every dollar it spends,” Sharma mentioned, declining to provide a timeline for the corporate breaking even on an working revenue degree.
On Monday, Paytm unveiled a $12 machine that enables clients to make funds by scanning a QR code or tapping playing cards on a reader, and alerts retailers when cash is credited to their account. The machine accepts all main bank card networks, together with homegrown RuPay.
Paytm competes with funds programs run by Alphabet Inc’s Google and Walmart Inc’s PhonePe in India’s fast-growing digital funds market. PhonePe additionally presents a wise speaker, much like Paytm’s so-called soundbox machine.
“There is never a day that I would not buy more equity in Paytm,” Sharma advised Bloomberg Information in an interview on Monday. “The single largest shareholder of Paytm is now an Indian, that is myself, and I believe this is definitely a key milestone.”
Sharma turned the largest investor in Paytm, formally known as One97 Communications Ltd, after he acquired shares from China’s Ant Group Co, in line with a disclosure on Sunday. Sharma holds 19.42% of the corporate, changing AntFin, which now owns 9.9%.
The transfer helps assuage considerations {that a} distinguished Chinese language firm was operating one in every of India’s best-known tech corporations at a time tensions between the 2 international locations are rising.
Paytm, headquartered on the outskirts of New Delhi, will proceed to construct its funds companies, together with credit score choices, because it inches nearer to profitability, Sharma mentioned. The corporate, which additionally counts SoftBank Group amongst its backers, mentioned in February it had achieved working profitability earlier than the price of worker inventory possession plan.
“The company is relentlessly focused on generating and earning every dollar it spends,” Sharma mentioned, declining to provide a timeline for the corporate breaking even on an working revenue degree.
On Monday, Paytm unveiled a $12 machine that enables clients to make funds by scanning a QR code or tapping playing cards on a reader, and alerts retailers when cash is credited to their account. The machine accepts all main bank card networks, together with homegrown RuPay.
Paytm competes with funds programs run by Alphabet Inc’s Google and Walmart Inc’s PhonePe in India’s fast-growing digital funds market. PhonePe additionally presents a wise speaker, much like Paytm’s so-called soundbox machine.
