Paytm raises Rs 7,000 crore for expansion

New Delhi: Digital payments company Paytm on Monday said it has raised $1 billion (over Rs 7,000 crore) in funding from US-based asset management firm T Rowe Price and existing investors including SoftBank and Alibaba to fund expansion plans.

This comes at a time when the country's biggest digital payments firm is facing an intense competition from Google Pay, Flipkart-owned PhonePe and others.

Paytm said it plans to invest around Rs 10,000 crore ($1.4 billion) over the next three years to expand financial services.

"One97 Communications Ltd (OCL), the parent company of Paytm, has announced an equity fundraising from a group of investors, including existing shareholders such as Ant Financial, Softbank Vision Fund, and new investors including funds and accounts advised by T Rowe Price Associates, Inc, among others," a statement said.

Discovery Capital, an existing shareholder of the company, also participated in the round, it added.

According to sources, the fundraising values the company at about $16 billion. As per reports earlier this year, Paytm, which is facing mounting losses, was looking at raising up to $2 billion in funding.

The company has said it will look at a public listing only after 2021. Paytm had raised $300 million from Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway in September last year.