Reserve Bank of India on Friday said NPCI has been asked to examine the possibility of it becoming a third party application provider for continued UPI operations of the Paytm app. The central bank has barred Paytm Payments Bank from accepting further credits into its customer accounts and wallets after March 15, 2024.
While Paytm (One97 Communications) is not completely past regulatory hurdles, its share price has gained in the last month or two. The Paytm handle migration is complete along with FDI clearance necessary for the Payment Aggregator (PA) license. UPI consumer data indicates stable market share, and expansion in partner networks in financial distribution. All this implies Paytm could be set to meet guidance of turning Adjusted Ebitda breakeven by Q4FY25 (ex of UPI-incentives).
The Directorate of Enforcement (ED) has launched a preliminary investigation or a pre-open inquiry into alleged violations related to the Foreign Exchange Management Act (Fema) in the Paytm Payments Bank case, according to sources in the know. The probe follows serious concerns raised by the Reserve Bank of India on multiple violations by the Paytm bank, which is a joint venture between One97 Communications, which is the parent company of Paytm, and the group's founder Vijay Shekhar Sharma.
One97 Communications Ltd (OCL), the company that operates the Paytm brand, posted a consolidated loss of Rs 539.8 crore in the fourth quarter of 2024-25 (Q4FY25), slightly lower from the Rs 549.6 crore it reported in Q4FY24. Sequentially, the fintech company's loss widened from Rs 208.3 crore in Q3FY25 on account of a one-time exceptional expense amounting to Rs 522 crore during the quarter ended March 2025.
Quarterly earnings from corporates, global trends, and trading activity of foreign investors will guide market sentiment this week, analysts said, adding that benchmark indices may face volatile trends. "The upcoming release of Q2 results will be closely watched, providing insights into corporate performance. "Meanwhile, the escalating tensions between Israel and Iran introduce a significant geopolitical risk, potentially leading to increased oil prices and market volatility.
Vijay Shekhar Sharma has stepped down as part-time non-executive Chairman of Paytm Payments Bank Limited (PPBL), and the board of the bank has been reconstituted. The Reserve Bank has barred the PPBL from accepting deposits and credits from any customer post-March 15 for persistent non-compliances and continued material supervisory concerns in the bank. PPBL has reconstituted its Board of Directors with the appointment of Ex-Central Bank of India chairman Srinivasan Sridhar, retired IAS officer Debendranath Sarangi, former executive director of Bank of Baroda Ashok Kumar Garg, and former IAS officer Rajni Sekhri Sibal, Paytm said in a regulatory filing on Monday.
Online food delivery firm Zomato Ltd on Tuesday reported a consolidated net profit of Rs 176 crore in the second quarter ended on September 30, 2024. The board of the company, which had posted a consolidated net profit of Rs 36 crore in the same quarter last fiscal, also approved the raising of Rs 8,500 crore through qualified institutional placement of equity shares, Zomato Ltd said in a regulatory filing. Zomato's consolidated revenue from operations stood at Rs 4,799 crore.
The last batch of quarterly earnings, global trends and trading activity of foreign investors will guide the equity market movement in a holiday-shortened week ahead, analysts said. Volatility may continue amid investors' cautious approach in the election season. Markets will remain closed on Monday due to the fifth phase of the Lok Sabha elections in Mumbai.
Anmol Singh Jaggi and Puneet Singh Jaggi, once hailed as rising stars in India's clean energy sector, are now facing serious regulatory action.
Japan's Softbank investment arm Softbank Vision Fund exited from Paytm in the June quarter at a loss of around $150 million, sources aware of the development said. Softbank invested about $1.5 billion in One97 Communications -- the owner of Paytm brand -- in tranches in 2017. "Softbank has exited Paytm at a loss of 10-12 per cent.
One97 Communications (OCL), the company that operates brand Paytm, received a nod from the National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) to onboard new Unified Payments Interface (UPI) users. This comes nearly nine months after the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) placed an embargo on OCL to add new customers.
Hyundai Motor India Limited's (HMIL's) record Rs 27,870 crore initial public offering (IPO) may not have set the primary market alight with sky-high subscription levels, but it has spelled a windfall for the five investment banks steering the share sale. The Indian arm of the South Korean carmaker paid Rs 493 crore - 1.77 per cent of the issue size - in fees and commissions to the book running lead managers (BRLMs), marking the largest-ever payout for an IPO in the country.
Fintech firm One97 Communications, which owns Paytm brand, on Friday said its loss has widened to Rs 840 crore in the quarter ended June 30, primarily due to continued impact of restrictions on Paytm Payments Bank Ltd. The company had posted a loss of Rs 358.4 crore in the same period a year ago, according to a regulatory filing by the company. The consolidated revenue of Paytm declined 33.48 per cent to Rs 1,639.1 crore during the reported quarter, from Rs 2,464.2 crore in the same period a year ago.
Hyundai Motor India (HMIL) raised Rs 8,315 crore from anchor investors on Monday, setting the stage for the country's biggest-ever maiden share sale. The Indian arm of the South Korean carmaker Hyundai Motor Company (HMC) allotted 42.4 million shares to 225 funds at Rs 1,960 apiece, the higher end of its price band. Among the investors receiving allotments were the Singapore government's sovereign wealth fund (GIC), New World Fund, and Fidelity.
Start-ups Zomato, PB Fintech, One97 Communications, and FSN E-Commerce Ventures have entered the large-cap category after the latest reclassification exercise by the Association of Mutual funds in India (Amfi). This comes despite stocks such as PB Fintech (Policybazaar) and One 97 Communication (Paytm) trading below their issue price. Others such as Mindtree, SRF, IRCTC, Tata Power, JSW Energy have been moved from mid-cap to large-cap category.
The Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau (AAIB) is expected to release its preliminary report this week on the Air India plane crash in Ahmedabad, which resulted in the deaths of at least 260 people. The investigation is ongoing, with the help of foreign experts, and the black box and voice recorder data are being analyzed.
Fintech firm One97 Communications -- owner of the brand Paytm -- has shifted its nodal account to Axis Bank from Paytm Payments Bank. The move will allow continuity of Paytm QR, Soundbox, card machine after the March 15 set by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI), as per a regulatory filing. The RBI has advised customers and merchants of Paytm Payments Bank Ltd (PPBL) to shift their accounts to other banks by March 15, giving 15 more days to the beleaguered entity to close most of its operations, including deposit and credit transactions.
Fintech firm One97 Communications, which owns the Paytm brand, has received support from merchants, and it assured them of continuity of services without any disruption, the company said in a blog on Sunday. The blog post came amid the recent crisis around Paytm Payments Bank Limited (PPBL), an associate company of Paytm, which has been barred by the RBI from accepting deposits or top-ups in customer accounts, wallets, FASTags and other instruments after February 29.
The market regulator's newly proposed selection criteria for the over Rs 400-trillion-a-day futures and options (F&O) market could pave the way for the entry of popular stocks such as Life Insurance Corporation (LIC) of India, Jio Financial Services, Zomato, Paytm, DMart, and Adani Energy into the derivatives segment. The Indian derivatives market, which accounts for most of the trading volumes, could see big churn with over two dozen exits from the current list of 182 stocks due to an upward revision in the eligibility thresholds.
According to its DRHP filed in 2010, the company's net worth was just Rs 140 crore. Its total income for the financial year 2009-10 stood at Rs 119 crore and it had a net profit of Rs 16 crore. In sharp contrast, at the end of March 2021, Paytm's networth was Rs 6,535 crore and total income stood at Rs 3,187 crore.
The company will transfer its wallet business, which has over 218 million mobile wallet users, to the newly incorporated entity -- PPBL -- under the payments bank licence awarded to Vijay Shekhar Sharma, the founder of One97 Communications that owns Paytm.
Alibaba will acquire 25 per cent stake in One97 Communications.
The Paytm application (app) could potentially face a permanent loss of its integrated mobile wallet feature, currently owned by Paytm Payments Bank (Paytm PB). With the recent crackdown on Paytm PB, sources say getting a fresh wallet licence may get tough for the group. "The Paytm app (One97 Communications) has to apply afresh to the RBI for a licence to operate a prepaid payment instrument (PPI) like a mobile wallet within the Paytm app, as PPI is a regulated entity.
Going by the RBI directive and the overall narrative, Paytm may have lost the rigour of stress tests, audits and compliance.
Digital firm One97 Communications, which operates under Paytm brand name, on Thursday said its IPO will open on November 8 for subscription in the price band of Rs 2,080-2,150 apiece, which implies that the firm's valuation stands at Rs 1.44 lakh crore-Rs 1.48 lakh crore. The initial public offer (IPO) subscription will close on November 10.
Paytm's Rs 18,300-crore IPO -- India's largest public issue to date -- was subscribed only 18 per cent on the first day of bidding on Monday.
One97 Communications Ltd (OCL), the parent firm of fintech major Paytm, has denied reports about any investigation by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) into the company, its associates, and its founder and chief executive officer (CEO), Vijay Shekhar Sharma. The company, in an exchange filing on Sunday, said it had cooperated with the authorities when users or merchants on its platform were subject to enquiries in the past. "We would like to set the record straight and deny any involvement in anti-money laundering activities.
Kapoor and his associate entities owned 10.6 per cent in the bank at the end of June 2019.
Paytm is banking on its offline network of merchants to fight bigger rivals Amazon and Flipkart
A total of Rs 52,759 crore has been raised by 61 companies through initial public offers till October this fiscal, higher than the funds mopped up through this route in the last financial year, the government told the Lok Sabha on Monday. Out of the 61 companies that hit the markets till October of the current fiscal, 34 entities were Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs). Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said that a large number of manufacturing and service sector companies are coming up for listing.
Leading stock exchange NSE has tweaked the constituents of its major indices with Adani Group's two companies -- Adani Wilmar and Adani Power -- all set to make their way into some of the Nifty indices from March 31, 2023. Adani Wilmar will be part of Nifty Next 50 and Nifty 100 indices, while Adani Power will be included in Nifty 500, Nifty 200, Nifty Midcap 100, Nifty Midcap 150, Nifty LargeMidcap 250, and Nifty Midsmallcap 400 indices. All the changes in the indices will be effective from March 31 this year, the exchange said in a late night statement on Friday.
Online food delivery platform Zomato will acquire Paytm's entertainment ticketing business for Rs 2,048 crore to strengthen its "going-out" segment in a deal that will help the troubled fintech firm to sharpen its focus on core payments and financial services distribution.
Startup founders need to sit up and think about how not to take stardom for granted and how not to disappoint their fans who have stood in long queues for those precious selfies with popular entrepreneurs, notes Nivedita Mookerji.
@015 has been a good year so far in terms of importan private equity deals.
Paytm's pre-IPO investors, which include likes of Warren Buffet's Berkshire Hathway, SoftBank and Alibaba, do not seem to be in a hurry to exit India's leading digital payments brand as they continue to believe in its long-term prospect, analysts said. On Tuesday, 86 per cent of Paytm's shares became free to trade after the end of the lock-in period, allowing investors to sell shares that haven't yet been allowed onto the market. Market participants have been speculating on Paytm, post-expiry of lock-in for pre-IPO investors.
Price Waterhouse Chartered Accountants (PwC India) has resigned as the auditor of Paytm Payments Services, the fintech major said in a regulatory filing on Monday. "...we wish to inform you that M/s. Price Waterhouse Chartered Accountants LLP ... statutory auditors of material subsidiary i.e. Paytm Payments Services Limited (PPSL) have resigned with effect from August 7, 2023," the company added. Paytm said that the statutory auditors had not raised any concerns or issues and that the company had noted PwC's resignation.
The largest deal of this year was Centerbridge Partners LP investing $1,157 million in Senvion SE for 100% stake from Suzlon Energy.
Paytm, the country's leading fintech player which had to shut its payment bank business following regulatory action, is revisiting its business strategy including partnership with lenders. Also, the company's founder and chief executive officer (CEO) Vijay Shekhar Sharma has decided to oversee the day-to-day operations with all the major verticals reporting directly to him now. "The thing on top of everyone's agenda is getting the core businesses back on track," a person in the know said.
Around 7.4 per cent of Indians aged 60 and above are affected by dementia. This number is expected to rise from the current 8.8 million to 17 million by 2036, marking a 97 per cent increase.
'Those seeking short-term benefits are joining the Shinde-led Sena and the ones looking at long-term benefits are joining the BJP.'