One 97 Communications, the operator of India’s largest digital payments provider, Paytm, has capped the worst first-year share plunge among large initial public offerings over the past decade — and the pain is worsening.
The company, whose founder compared its challenges with those faced by Tesla shortly after the listing, has seen its stock lose 75 per cent of its market value a year after its $2.4 billion offering, the largest on record at the time in India.
The dive is the steepest first-year slide globally among IPOs that raised at least the same amount since Spanish bank Bankia’s 82 per cent drop in 2012, data compiled by Bloomberg show.
Paytm’s grim first anniversary underscores an erosion of confidence in its ability to become profitable after debuting at a time when India’s IPO market was enamoured with tech start-ups. It is one of several start-ups that listed with valuations seen by many as exaggerated.
The stock’s losses have deepened this week amid concerns over the emergence of a potential competitor owned by India’s biggest conglomerate. Last week, Japan’s SoftBank Group sold shares it held in Paytm as a lock-up period set in the IPO expired, fueling a three-day slide.
November’s 30 per cent slide has taken its decline from the IPO price of 2,150 rupees ($26.27) to 79 per cent.
Tech stocks globally are being sold off as investors shun loss-making companies in a deteriorating macroeconomic environment, JM Financial analysts, led by Sachin Dixit, wrote in a note this week.
“This feedback has been well received by company managements and we are seeing all Indian internet companies not just prioritising profitability but also communicating the path forward explicitly,” they wrote.
Paytm shares were sold at the top of a marketed range after an offering that attracted strong demand from individuals and funds, although they never traded above the listing price. The sale attracted traditional global stock pickers such as BlackRock and the Canada Pension Plan Investment Board.
“In every rally, the market as a whole gets too excited about something,” said Shridatta Bhandwaldar, head of equities at Canara Robeco Asset Management. “In 2006-2008, we got too excited about construction companies and capital goods companies. In 2013-2014, we got too excited about midcaps. In 2017-2019 we got extremely excited about non-banking financial companies and in 2020-2022 people were just too excited about technology.
“Some of these companies have good business models,” he said. “Still, you feel there is not enough margin of safety because these are evolving businesses.”
The bio
Favourite book: The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho
Favourite travel destination: Maldives and south of France
Favourite pastime: Family and friends, meditation, discovering new cuisines
Favourite Movie: Joker (2019). I didn’t like it while I was watching it but then afterwards I loved it. I loved the psychology behind it.
Favourite Author: My father for sure
Favourite Artist: Damien Hurst
More from Rashmee Roshan Lall
The biog:
Languages: Arabic, Farsi, Hindi, basic Russian
Favourite food: Pizza
Best food on the road: rice
Favourite colour: silver
Favourite bike: Gold Wing, Honda
Favourite biking destination: Canada
Groom and Two Brides
Director: Elie Semaan
Starring: Abdullah Boushehri, Laila Abdallah, Lulwa Almulla
Rating: 3/5
The alternatives
• Founded in 2014, Telr is a payment aggregator and gateway with an office in Silicon Oasis. It’s e-commerce entry plan costs Dh349 monthly (plus VAT). QR codes direct customers to an online payment page and merchants can generate payments through messaging apps.
• Business Bay’s Pallapay claims 40,000-plus active merchants who can invoice customers and receive payment by card. Fees range from 1.99 per cent plus Dh1 per transaction depending on payment method and location, such as online or via UAE mobile.
• Tap started in May 2013 in Kuwait, allowing Middle East businesses to bill, accept, receive and make payments online “easier, faster and smoother” via goSell and goCollect. It supports more than 10,000 merchants. Monthly fees range from US$65-100, plus card charges of 2.75-3.75 per cent and Dh1.2 per sale.
• 2checkout’s “all-in-one payment gateway and merchant account” accepts payments in 200-plus markets for 2.4-3.9 per cent, plus a Dh1.2-Dh1.8 currency conversion charge. The US provider processes online shop and mobile transactions and has 17,000-plus active digital commerce users.
• PayPal is probably the best-known online goods payment method - usually used for eBay purchases - but can be used to receive funds, providing everyone’s signed up. Costs from 2.9 per cent plus Dh1.2 per transaction.
Labour dispute
The insured employee may still file an ILOE claim even if a labour dispute is ongoing post termination, but the insurer may suspend or reject payment, until the courts resolve the dispute, especially if the reason for termination is contested. The outcome of the labour court proceedings can directly affect eligibility.
- Abdullah Ishnaneh, Partner, BSA Law
THE BIO
Occupation: Specialised chief medical laboratory technologist
Age: 78
Favourite destination: Always Al Ain “Dar Al Zain”
Hobbies: his work - “ the thing which I am most passionate for and which occupied all my time in the morning and evening from 1963 to 2019”
Other hobbies: football
Favorite football club: Al Ain Sports Club
EXPATS
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EDirector%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Lulu%20Wang%26nbsp%3B%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EStars%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Nicole%20Kidman%2C%20Sarayu%20Blue%2C%20Ji-young%20Yoo%2C%20Brian%20Tee%2C%20Jack%20Huston%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3ERating%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%204%2F5%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
History's medical milestones
1799 - First small pox vaccine administered
1846 - First public demonstration of anaesthesia in surgery
1861 - Louis Pasteur published his germ theory which proved that bacteria caused diseases
1895 - Discovery of x-rays
1923 - Heart valve surgery performed successfully for first time
1928 - Alexander Fleming discovers penicillin
1953 - Structure of DNA discovered
1952 - First organ transplant - a kidney - takes place
1954 - Clinical trials of birth control pill
1979 - MRI, or magnetic resonance imaging, scanned used to diagnose illness and injury.
1998 - The first adult live-donor liver transplant is carried out
Women%E2%80%99s%20T20%20World%20Cup%20Qualifier
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EUAE%20fixtures%3C%2Fstrong%3E%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E25%20April%20%E2%80%93%20Ireland%20v%20UAE*%3Cbr%3E27%20April%20%E2%80%93%20UAE%20v%20Zimbabwe**%3Cbr%3E29%20April%20%E2%80%93%20Netherlands%20v%20UAE*%3Cbr%3E3%20May%20%E2%80%93%20UAE%20v%20Vanuatu*%3Cbr%3E5%20May%20%E2%80%93%20Semi-finals%3Cbr%3E7%20May%20%E2%80%93%20Final%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EUAE%20squad%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EEsha%20Oza%20(captain)%2C%20Al%20Maseera%20Jahangir%2C%20Avanee%20Patel%2C%20Heena%20Hotchandani%2C%20Indhuja%20Nandakumar%2C%20Kavisha%20Kumari%2C%20Khushi%20Sharma%2C%20Lavanya%20Keny%2C%20Mehak%20Thakur%2C%20Rinitha%20Rajith%2C%20Samaira%20Dharnidharka%2C%20Siya%20Gokhale%2C%20Suraksha%20Kotte%2C%20Theertha%20Satish%2C%20Vaishnave%20Mahesh.%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E*Zayed%20Cricket%20Stadium%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E**Tolerance%20Oval%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
Timeline
2012-2015
The company offers payments/bribes to win key contracts in the Middle East
May 2017
The UK SFO officially opens investigation into Petrofac’s use of agents, corruption, and potential bribery to secure contracts
September 2021
Petrofac pleads guilty to seven counts of failing to prevent bribery under the UK Bribery Act
October 2021
Court fines Petrofac £77 million for bribery. Former executive receives a two-year suspended sentence
December 2024
Petrofac enters into comprehensive restructuring to strengthen the financial position of the group
May 2025
The High Court of England and Wales approves the company’s restructuring plan
July 2025
The Court of Appeal issues a judgment challenging parts of the restructuring plan
August 2025
Petrofac issues a business update to execute the restructuring and confirms it will appeal the Court of Appeal decision
October 2025
Petrofac loses a major TenneT offshore wind contract worth €13 billion. Holding company files for administration in the UK. Petrofac delisted from the London Stock Exchange
November 2025
180 Petrofac employees laid off in the UAE