Paytm's stock fell 20% for a second day in a row as a result of the Indian central bank's prohibition on a large portion of the company's operations.
The Reserve Bank of India ordered Paytm Payments Bank Ltd., the company's business, to cease several of its operations, citing repeated non-compliance and supervisory concerns. As a result, the digital payments giant is facing increasing regulatory issues. Investor confidence was not bolstered by a conference call that was conducted on Thursday after market hours. The stock was downgraded to sell by at least five brokerages, including Citigroup Inc. and JPMorgan Chase & Co.
The company, which has investors like SoftBank Group Corp. and Antfin Singapore Holding Pte., a subsidiary of Alibaba, has lost almost $2 billion in market value in the last two days.
Ankur Rudra and other JPMorgan analysts said in a note that "the order materially impacts Paytm's core payments business at 59% of revenue." Even though this is probably going to have less of an effect on its other companies, over time, unless the company can effectively move its business to other banks, it dilutes the brand trust and network effects of Paytm's "merchant-consumer" ecosystem.
As of right now, Paytm has decreased by almost 77% since going public in 2021. During the most recent conference call, the business stated that it is speeding up efforts to collaborate with other banks and that operations should return to "fully normal" by early March.
