China’s FDI influx into Paytm Payments is being monitored
NEW DELHI: According to reports, the government is looking into Chinese foreign direct investment in Paytm Payments Services, a One97 Communications payment aggregator.
In accordance with the guidelines on Regulation of Payment Aggregators and Payment Gateways, Paytm submitted an application for a license to operate as a payment aggregator to the RBI in November 2020. But in November 2022, the RBI denied the application and requested that the business resubmit it in order to abide by FDI regulations’ Press Note 3.
Ant Group, a Chinese company, has invested in One97 Communications.
The business then submitted the necessary application to the government on December 14, 2022, for a previous downward investment by One97 into the business, in accordance with Press Note 3 that was mandated under FDI standards.
An interministerial group is looking at Chinese investments in Paytm, and after careful thought and investigation, a decision on FDI will be made, according to sources.
Press Note 3 said that in order to prevent opportunistic takeovers of Indian companies after the epidemic, the government had made prior permission of foreign investments in any industry from nations sharing a land border with India necessary.
