Paytm founder Vijay Shekhar Sharma turned emotional this morning on market debut
Paytm founder Vijay Shekhar Sharma turned emotional during his address at the Bombay Stock Exchange, or BSE, on the company's market debut this morning, after it completed India's biggest-ever initial public offering, or IPO.
In visuals, Mr Sharma was seen wiping tears with a handkerchief as he addressed a gathering in a hall of the BSE.
Mr Sharma, an engineering graduate, founded Paytm in 2010 as a platform for mobile recharges.
Paytm grew quickly after ride-hailing firm Uber listed it as a quick payment option and its use swelled further in November 2016, when the government's overnight ban on high-value currency notes boosted digital payments.
Paytm's success has turned Mr Sharma, a school teacher's son, into a billionaire with a net worth of $2.4 billion, according to Forbes. Its IPO has also minted hundreds of new millionaires in the country.
Shares in Paytm fell 21 per cent in their market debut, valuing the Ant Group-backed digital payments firm at around Rs 1.11 trillion. Shares were changing hands at Rs 1,705 in early morning trade versus the offer price of Rs 2,150.
Paytm, which also counts SoftBank among its backers, raised $2.5 billion in its IPO, of which $1.1 billion was from institutional investors.
With inputs from Reuters