Shares of Paytm plunged 10% on Monday, the third consecutive session of declines, touching an all-time low of 438.35 Indian rupees (or $5.28) after the RBI's clampdown last week looks to have had a more extensive impact than previously anticipated.
The trading was halted after Paytm's shares fell 10%, the artificial limit put on its daily trade by the local exchanges. Even as Paytm initially anticipated RBI's decision to have a maximum annual impact of $60 million to its business, the financial services firm has shed about $2.5 billion in its market cap in three days, or more than 40% of its value since Wednesday close. (Paytm's market cap on Monday stood at $3.35 billion, below the $3.4 billion valuation at which it raised capital from Ant Financial in 2015 and far below its IPO valuation of $20 billion. More on numbers here.)
The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) last week widened its curbs on Paytm’s Payments Bank, which processes transactions for Paytm, barring it from offering many banking services, including accepting fresh deposits and credit transactions across its services. In response, Paytm initially said it will terminate business with its affiliate and seek partnership with other banks.