Why you should not use PayTM?

When we think of chineese apps ,Tick Tock ,UC browser or ShareIt pop up into our mind. We consider Paytm as Indian app and that is absolutely true for sure.

 But what we didn't consider is the shareholder of the company, When we consider Paytm shareholders, the name of Vijay Shekhar Sharma, founder of Paytm pops in our minds. 

But the Paytm shareholder’s list consists of multibillionaire Alibaba, One97, Tata  Sons, Softbank, Ant financials, etc. Paytm’s biggest shareholder is Alibaba itself. So this Indian company’s largest shareholder is a Chinees company! Paytm shareholders 2020, 2019 have huge variations. Here we will answer why you should not use Paytm app if you want to boycott China.

What is Paytm?

Paytm (Meaning Pay throug  mobile and pronounced similar to ATM) is an Indian e-commerce payment system and financial technology company, based in Noida, India. Paytm was founded in August 2010 with an initial investment of $2 million by its founder Vijay Shekhar Sharma in Noida, a region adjacent to India's capital New Delhi. As of January 2018, Paytm is valued at $10 billion. Know more on Wikipedia.

CEO	Renu Satti (23 May 2017–)
Founder	Vijay Shekhar Sharma
Founded	August 2010
Revenue (Updated Jan 2020)	3,960 crores INR (2019, US$550 million)
Headquarter	Noida
Parent Organisation	One97 Communications

Paytm ShareHolders 2020

One97

PayTM is the consumer brand of India’s leading mobile internet company One97 Communications. One97 investors include SAIF Partners, Intel Capital, and SAP Ventures. 

One97 holds about 39% shares in the company which implies that SAIF Partners, Intel Capital, and SAP Ventures have their consecutive shares in the company. Overall now One97 holds around 0.5% share in PayTM.

Major Paytm shareholders Alibaba, Soft Bank:

Alibaba, when invested in PayTM, took around 25% share in the parent company One97 along with taking some share in PayTM. As a result, MD of Tata Sons, Mr. Ratan Tata invested in the company.

After this increase in Alibaba share percentage in PayTM, Softbank (majority stockholder of most successful startups gave the company including Alibaba) gave a huge $356 million for a stake of 4%-3% in PayTM.

Other Paytm Stack Holders

Along with that Capital, SVB (Saama Capital) and SAP Ventures used to have a combined stake of about 4.3% in the company. Which at present belongs to Alibaba and Ant Financial. Later in March 2017, 47 employees Noida-based company sold shares worth about Rs 100 crore when it PayTM was valued at $4.8 billion. Making millions in seconds and got their pockets filled with huge profits.

Alibaba cracked an unbelievable deal with Reliance Capital. Reliance Capital, which held a stake of about 0.7% in One97, sold its stake to Chinese internet giant Alibaba for $41 million.

And speculations are that there will be an over 50% increase in $10 billion valuations since it raised money from Berkshire Hathaway (BH International Holdings). The first investment by the Warren Buffet-owned company in a private technology company in the world.Following which the share percentage of Vijay Shekhar Sharma is around 13%-18%. Neglecting the share in ONE97 which further has a share of 39% in PayTM.

Paytm Ownership Structure

Bar Chart Showing Share Proportions

So to tell in simple words and conclude, before the major funding of PayTM by majorly Alibaba, SoftBank, and  SAIF Partners the share percentage of Vijay Shekhar Sharma was 51%. After the fundings, it is at 14%-16% for the time being. To be precise the current shareholding of Mr. Vijay Shekhar Sharma is 90,51,624 share or 15.71%.

PayTM Shareholders List 2020:

1. Alibaba(38%)
2. Softbank(20%)
3. SAIF Partners(20%)
4. Vijay Shekhar Sharma(16%)
5. Berkshire Hathaway(2.9%)

This is the Top 5 PayTM Shareholders List 2020 in order of their share percentage.

Should I use PayTM?

If you want to help in boycotting China and you have unistalled all the chineese app, next you should stop using all apps which have a great proportion of share in chineese companies.  

Going by the share percentage PayTM is a china owned company. Both Alibaba and Saif Partners are operational in China. In total, they own more than 50% share (~60%) in the Indian Origin Company PayTM. As they have the most shares in the company and forms a majority, this proves that payTM is owned by Chinees Company. 

In conclusion You should not use PayTM instead there are many alternative as Google Pay or BHIM etc. that you can use.