Paytm shares jump 9% after Vijay Shekhar Sharma says goal is to build $100 billion company

Shares of One 97 Communications Ltd, the parent entity of payment services provider Paytm, soared by 9% during the early trading hours on Monday, July 8.

The jump comes after Paytm CEO Vijay Shekhar Sharma, while speaking at an event in Gurugram on Saturday, July 6, sounded optimistic about the company’s growth. He claimed that his goal is to make Paytm a “$100 billion company”.

Within the first couple of hours of trading today, the stock touched a high of ₹475.85 apiece on the National Stock Exchange (NSE), up 9% as against the last closing price.

By 11:27 am, Paytm pared some of the gains and was trading at ₹471.7 per share, still up 8% as against the previous closing value.

Also Read: Paytm denies report of stake sale talks with Adani Group

$100 billion goal

Sharma, while discussing the potential of Paytm at the 7th JIIF Foundation Day in Gurugram on July 6, said the company is poised for sharp growth despite the setback faced earlier this year.

“I have a personal ambition to make Paytm a $100 billion Indian company,” Sharma said, adding that he wants the brand to be recognised globally.

His comments come in the backdrop of Paytm losing a significant portion of its market capitalisation value this year, as the company’s shares were hammered due to the regulatory action taken against its banking arm – Paytm Payments Bank Ltd (PPBL).

Also Read: RBI action against Paytm Payments Bank explained

Referring to the recent crisis, Sharma said, “We should have done better, there are no secrets about it. We should have understood better… we had responsibilities, we should have fulfilled much better.”

Notably, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) had on January 31 issued a directive to PPBL that barred the lender from accepting any fresh deposit from the subsequent month. This led to a sharp plunge in Paytm shares, with the free fall continuing for several days.

A silver lining for Paytm remains the recovery that it has seen over the past few weeks. In the last one month, the shares have risen by 20.7%. Year-to-date, however, the stock is down by 27.2%.