By Nikunj Ohri and Manoj Kumar
NEW DELHI (Reuters) – India’s Paytm has got approval from the government for its 500 million rupees ($5.97 million) investment in a key subsidiary, a top finance ministry official told Reuters on Friday.
The approval, which was stuck for months due to the company’s link to China, will remove the main stumbling block to the unit, Paytm Payment Services, resuming normal business operations.
Paytm Payment Services is one of the biggest remaining parts of the fintech firm’s business, accounting for a quarter of consolidated revenue in the financial year ended March 2023.
Earlier this month, Reuters reported that the government had given the investment the green light.
Vivek Joshi, financial services secretary, said the company can approach India’s central bank to seek a payment aggregator license which the bank will evaluate.
Paytm shares surged 10% to 509.05 rupees after the news.
($1 = 83.7183 Indian rupees)
(Reporting by Nikunj Ohri; Editing by Christina Fincher)
