Paytm IPO got listed at the stock market on November 18, opening at Rs 1,955 on the Bombay Stock Exchange. The company’s founder and chief executive officer, Vijay Shekhar Sharma had last week led Paytm’s $2.5 billion IPO. Hours before the listing on Thursday, Sharma had turned emotional and said that it felt like he was “carrying the hopes and aspirations of young India to the Stock Market”. While Sharma’s achievements highlight his successes, few people know about his humble background. In a recent interview, Sharma revealed that he still likes to have tea from roadside stalls and go for morning walks to buy milk. He also mentioned how his mother couldn’t believe his net worth and had asked him about it to verify the information.
Recalling the time China’s Ant Group first invested in Paytm in 2015, Sharma told Reuters, “For a long time my parents had no idea what their son was doing. Once my mother read about my net worth in a Hindi newspaper and asked me, ‘Vijay do you really have the kind of money they say you have?'”
Son of a school teacher from a small city, Sharma completed his schooling at a Hindi-medium school in his hometown, Harduaganj in Aligarh. In an interview with Bloomberg News, Sharma revealed e taught himself English by memorising rock songs and simultaneously reading translated textbooks in English and Hindi.
According to Forbes, Sharma’s present net worth is $2.4 billion and its IPO has minted hundreds of new millionaires. Earlier this month, days before the historic launch of Paytm’s IPO, Sharma visited Tirupati temple and offered prayers. The IPO of Paytm, which was previously known as One97 Communications, is the biggest initial public offering in the history of the Indian stock market.
Paytm’s $2.5 billion (Rs 18,257 crores approximately) initial public offering (IPO), which is also India’s largest, was oversubscribed last week. Paytm priced its 85.1 million-share issue at Rs 2,150 each. The company had flagged a price range from Rs2,080 to 2,150 per share for the deal. At the upper price limit of the shares, the interested investors will have to pay a minimum of Rs 12,900 to purchase a single lot.
Source: News 18
