India’s Paytm loses more than 25% in value on First Trading day

In its first day of trading, Ant Group-backed Paytm lost more than 25 per cent of its value.

Paytm’s IPO, which is the biggest one comes at a time when the Indian stock markets have been at an all-time high and a preferred destination for global capital. Retail investors who participated in large numbers into the stock are now sitting on heavy losses, alongside global money managers including BlackRock and the Canada Pension Plan Investment Board.

Paytm shares closed at Rs 1,581 compared with the IPO price of Rs 2,150 at the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE). It had raised $2.5 billion in what is India’s largest IPO. In an interview with Bloomberg News minutes after shares sank at the open, Paytm founder and chief executive officer Vijay Shekhar Sharma whose company is backed by the likes of Berkshire Hathaway Inc. and SoftBank Group Corp.said the slump “is no indicator of the value of our company.”

“We are in it for the long haul,” he said. “We’ll put our heads down and execute.” “There’s never a right moment, a correct share price and an accurate valuation,” Sharma said. “We are at the starting point and investors will get to know us in the coming quarters, years and decades.”