Paytm emerges as biggest loser with 27% fall on debut day

It was a black day for Paytm, formally known as One 97 Communications, as the stock crashed 27.25 percent, the biggest-ever fall in a decade for any scrip on the listing day. In addition, it was locked in 20 percent lower circuit in comparison to the pre-opening price of Rs 1,955 on the BSE.

The stock settled at Rs 1,564.15, down 27.25 percent compared to the issue price of Rs 2,150 per share, while it opened 9.1 percent lower, which meant it could not cross even the Rs 2,000-mark during the day.

The weakness in overall equity market, high valuations, consistent loss in last financial years, expected tough competition in the digital payments segment, and less than expected subscription to its IPO are among key reasons that spoiled the Paytm show today.

Paytm's Rs 18,300-crore offer was subscribed only 1.89 times against the sky-high hype created before the issue getting launched. Qualified institutional investors bought shares only 2.79 times the reserved portion and retail investors' portion was booked 1.66 times, while non-institutional investors did not show great interest in the offer as their portion was subscribed only 24 percent.

Paytm registered the biggest-ever loss among IPOs that have listed in the last 10 years. Healthcare Global Enterprises, Quick Heal Technologies and Karda Construction were the next biggest losers, reporting around 21 percent loss each on their listing days.