Paytm Founder Says Company’s Public Debut Mirrors Tesla’s

Vijay Shekhar Sharma, founder of Indian eCommerce firm Paytm, compared his company’s inauspicious public debut to the early struggles by automaker Tesla when it listed more than 10 years ago, Reuters reported Monday (Nov. 22).

The collapse of Paytm shares on Monday caused the company’s listing valuation to plummet about $7 billion from its $18.74 billion start. Sharma told employees during a more than four-hour company meeting last week to take lessons from Tesla’s early struggles and hope for a similar rebound by focusing on market expansion, according to the report, which cited two sources.

Paytm’s shares fell as much as 18.57% Monday to 1,271 rupees (about $17) before recovering partially to end the day down 12.9% at 1359.60 rupees (about $18), meaning shares have dropped more than 36% below its issue price of 2,150 rupees per share (about $28), the report stated.

Paytm said Sunday (Nov. 21) its gross merchandise value rose 131% in October from the same time a year earlier, according to the report. SoftBank and Ant Group are among Paytm’s backers, and the company has raised about $2.5 billion in its initial public offering (IPO). Uber kickstarted the company by making it a payment option in India.

India’s GDP was approximately $2.7 trillion in 2020 and has been growing about 7% per year — and could accelerate to 9%. Private consumption is slated to rise from $1.6 trillion in 2019 to as much as $2.5 trillion by 2025.

See more: Paytm’s Busted IPO Shows Investors’ Fears Over Long-Term Prospects

Meanwhile, Paytm and private Indian bank HDFC Bank debuted a strategic partnership on financial solutions for India customers and merchants in August.

Read more: Paytm, HDFC Bank Partner to Provide Consumer, Merchant Solutions

Paytm has more than 333 million users and 21 million merchants, while HDFC has more than 50 million debit and credit card customers and 2 million merchant acceptance points.

The partnership will include solutions in payment gateways; POS machines and credit products, including buy now pay later (BNPL) solution Paytm Postpaid; and more.