Alibaba Group Holding Ltd, the Chinese e-commerce giant, has recently sold its shares in Indian digital payments firm Paytm. The move comes as a part of Alibaba’s ongoing effort to rationalize its portfolio and focus on core businesses.
Paytm, which is one of India’s leading digital payment platforms, has seen a significant increase in its value over the past few years. The company has attracted a large number of investors, including Japanese conglomerate SoftBank Group Corp and China’s Ant Group, which is also owned by Alibaba.
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However, the recent sale of Alibaba’s shares in Paytm signals a shift in the company’s strategy. The Chinese firm has been looking to streamline its operations and focus on key growth areas, including e-commerce and cloud computing. This move also aligns with the Indian government’s recent crackdown on Chinese investment, which has led to increased scrutiny of Chinese-owned companies in the country.
According to the details, the company disposed of its remaining shares in the Indian digital payments firm, Paytm, for an estimated value of Rs13.78 billion ($167.14 million).
On Friday, Alibaba divested 21.4 million shares of Paytm, selling each share at a price of Rs642.74. Despite this, the value of Paytm’s shares experienced a dip of about 8% on Friday, settling at Rs650.55. Nevertheless, its overall performance for the year remains strong with a year-to-date increase of nearly 23%.
Information has shown that on Friday, Morgan Stanley Asia (Singapore) acquired 5.42 million Paytm shares at a price of Rs640 each.
