Japanese financial institution, SoftBank, will be investing around $400 million in one of India’s largest startups, Paytm E-Commerce Pvt. Ltd. This funding will increase the valuation of the e-commerce company to $1.9 billion, according to a regulatory filing.
Alibaba, the largest e-commerce company in China, is already an investor in Paytm. However, it will be investing an additional $45 million in this round of funding.
SoftBank is one of the key investors in India’s e-commerce sector which is on a tremendous surge. The Japanese bank already has a stake in the parent company of Paytm and has confirmed its investment in Paytm Mall, which is the brand name of Paytm E-Commerce Pvt. Ltd, operating an online retail space.
Speaking on this occasion, SoftBank said, “We believe Paytm Mall’s offline-to-online operating model, combined with the strength of the Paytm ecosystem, is uniquely positioned to enable India’s 15 million offline retail shops to participate in India’s e-commerce boom.”
Commenting on this recent influx of funds, Amit Sinha, Chief Operating Officer of Paytm Mall, said that the company would utilize these funds to enhance its technology and also develop high-quality logistics. According to India’s Registrar of Companies, SoftBank units will get a stake worth 21.1 percent in Paytm E-Commerce after the investment.
However, the single largest investor in Paytm will still be Alibaba’s Singapore entity Alibaba.com, Singapore E-Commerce Pvt. Ltd., holding around 36.3 percent of stake in the Indian retail outlet.
SoftBank is a leading investor in another Indian online retail company, Snapdeal.
