Ant Group denies Paytm sale considerations

Details: Manny Pham; Category: Mobile Finance; 03 December 2020; 4334 views

Alibaba financial arm Ant Group denied it was preparing to offload shares in India-based digital payments company Paytm, due to tensions between China and India bringing more restrictive market conditions.

Reuters reported, Ant Group has a 30% stake in Paytm, however a price tag for the stake has not been given as a formal sales process is yet to begin, said sources.

Paytm was valued at $16 billion in a round of private fundraising a year ago, making the Indian company worth about $4.8 billion, reported Reuters.

Ant Group denied the Reuters article, stating on Twitter: “The Reuters story is untrue. We are disappointed that Reuters decided to run the story based on false information.”

Tensions between China and India began in June when skirmishes at their border in the Himalayas, resulted in 20 Indian soldiers killed.

India most notably banned mobile apps originating from China, having recently restricted 43 apps in November including e-commerce app Aliexpress, for threatening the “sovereignty and integrity of India”, adding to the 170 apps initially banned. The Chinese embassy in India said it denied the accusations.

An app called ‘Remove China Apps’ was taken off the Google Play Store for violating policies, after garnering five million downloads between May and June.