Chinese billionaire Jack Ma’s Ant Financial exited One97 Communications, the parent company of Paytm, on Tuesday, according to a PTI report.
Ma’s financial services company sold off its entire 5.84% stake in the Indian fintech giant for Rs 3,980 crore via open market transactions.
The Ant Group, which is an affiliate company of the Chinese conglomerate group Alibaba, offloaded about 37.3 million equity shares of the Noida-based One97 Communications.
Notably, following this development, share prices of One97 Communications fell by 2.38% to close at Rs 1,052.65 apiece on the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) on Tuesday.
This move by Ant Financial comes in light of Japan’s SoftBank also offloading its stake in Paytm in 2024.
How the Ant Group Gradually Divested
Back in September 2015, the Ant Group invested more than $500 billion in the then-mobile wallet Indian startup. Paytm CEO Vijay Shekhar Sharma positioned this as India’s answer to Alibaba’s investments in China.
Furthermore, SoftBank – an early Alibaba investor – invested $1.4 billion in Paytm in 2017, reinforcing this narrative.
However, since Paytm’s public listing in India in November 2021, Ant Financial has steadily and gradually divested its investment share.
For instance, Ant Financial conducted an offer for sale (OFS) to offload shares worth Rs 4,704 crore in November 2021 itself.
Following this, in September 2023, it transferred a 10% stake to a Netherlands-based company that Sharma owns, reducing Ant Financial’s stake to 13%. And in May 2025, it sold an additional 4% stake.
Brief History of Paytm Scrutiny In India
Interestingly, Alibaba’s investment in Paytm was once considered a strength for the Indian fintech giant. But the regulatory environment underwent a sea change in 2020 when the Indian Government toughened its stance on Chinese investment in local tech firms.
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For instance, the Centre examined foreign direct investment (FDI) in Paytm Payments Bank from investors in China in February 2024. However, Sharma’s fintech giant vehemently denied any major FDI linked to Chinese investors.
Elsewhere, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) announced restrictions on Paytm Payments Bank, asking Paytm’s subsidiary to halt all deposits and credit transactions after February 29, 2024, among other directions.
Furthermore, the Enforcement Directorate served a show-cause notice to One97 Communications in March 2025 for allegedly flouting the Foreign Exchange Management Act, 1999 (FEMA).
The alleged violation involved an investment amounting to Rs 611 crore in two subsidiaries, namely Little Internet Private Limited (LIPL) and Nearbuy India Private Limited (NIPL).
However, despite these regulatory crackdowns, the Indian fintech firm reported a 100% year-on-year (YoY) rise in its financial services revenue in Q1FY26. This growth was driven by merchant loans, among other factors. In particular, 560,000 users (customers and merchants) availed loans, equity broking, and insurance through Paytm in Q1FY26.
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