It is pertinent to mention here that the National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) in November 2020 proposed to limit the market capitalization of third-party application providers (TPAPs) to 30%.
The initial deadline for the policy was December 31, 2022, but it has now been extended to December 2024. NPCI is expected to announce its final decision by the end of 2024.
“In terms of going public, excessive market cap is definitely an issue for us. We are not comfortable entering a market where 30% of market cap is lurking or approaching,” PhonePee CEO Samir Nigam said at a session at the Global Fintech Fest here on Wednesday.
“I don’t want to go public based on today’s numbers and market share until I can look you in the eye and say, ‘Buy my shares. This company can grow from here.'” This comes after PhonePe announced earlier this week that it had turned profitable before ESOP expenses during the last financial year. The company reportedly posted an adjusted profit after tax (PAT) of Rs 197 crore in FY24 against an adjusted post-tax loss of Rs 738 crore for the year ending March 2023. Going forward, PhonePe aims to enter the European market within the next five years, he said. Stating that every business is a big opportunity for the company, Nigam said PhonePe will deepen the businesses it has launched.
“We’ve already seen some profits,” he added.
