Chinese fintech giant Ant Group is reportedly considering a sale of its 30 percent stake in Indian digital payment firm Paytm, amid growing tensions between the two countries.
No formal process has been launched nor have any financial details been confirmed, according to a »Reuters» report citing multiple unnamed sources.
Spokespeople from both firms denied the claims, with Paytm saying that «no discussion with any of our major shareholders ever, nor any plans, about selling their stake» are underway.
Ownership Hurdles
According to the sources, the move is driven in part by the «growing realization» in Ant’s management team that it may not be able to raise a stake in Paytm due to rising India-China tensions.
If the desired valuation is not reached, Ant could still end up retaining the stake.
Paytm completed its latest funding round in 2019 which valued the firm at $16 billion and Ant’s stake at around $4.8 billion.
India-China Relations
Relationships between the world’s two most populous nations reached a new low after a face-off in the western Himalaya borders that resulted in the deaths of at least 20 Indian soldiers.
Since then, Indian authorities have tightened against Chinese tech firms, banning dozens of mobile apps from the like of Tencent, Alibaba and ByteDance.
Alibaba has invested more than $4 billion thus far and originally had plans to add another $5 billion in 2021 but will now pause expansion, according to the report.
