Paytm can grow its value going forward, says Softbank's Masayoshi Son
Even as India’s leading fintech player
Paytm’s IPO is off to a slow start, one of its largest investors, Japan’s
Softbank, believes that the company can grow its value going forward.
Softbank chief
Masayoshi Son when asked by an analyst, post its Q2 results, if Paytm’s
valuation of $20 billion was lower than the firm's expectation, said,
“Valuation-wise, of course, it depends on market condition and investors'
appetite. And I believe that they can grow their value going forward.”
While Paytm is
seeking a valuation of around $20 billion, it is much lower than the rumoured
expectation of $25-30 billion.
Son added that the Paytm IPO should be a
great event for Softbank. “I
believe Paytm should
grow significantly. I believe that valuation should be bigger than the cost
that we spend when we make an investment. So for us, the IPO should be a great
event.”
Son also said that monetisation, by either the IPO route or exit
through its Vision Fund 2, has almost doubled. In the first six months of this
year the company has seen 18 such events.
In India too, Softbank has seen
several of its investments such as Policybazaar, Paytm, Delhivery and others,
taking the IPO route.
“Not only Paytm, there are other businesses too from which we have
high-expectations. So for the year-end and early next year, I'm looking forward
to those possibilities. The number of IPOs has been growing. And some make a
big hit,” he told analysts.
SoftBank reported a $3.5 billion (397 billion yen) loss for the
July-September quarter, a harsh turn from a 628 billion yen profit a year ago
in the same period, led by falling valuations in its technology portfolio.
When asked about the recent crackdown by the Chinese government on
certain sectors in China, Son said that he is concerned about what’s happening
in China, but then Softbank is investing in companies that are
into AI. “AI revolution, AI technology related companies are coming
up in China. And I hope that and I believe that those companies will grow.
In that sense, we will continue to invest in those potential AI related
companies in China. I hope that they're going to grow even further in China.”
Comments
Post a Comment