India's MobiKwik, smaller rival of Paytm, may defer IPO - Economic Times

BENGALURU (Reuters) - Digital payments firm MobiKwik could delay its initial public offering (IPO) by two to three months and could even push it to the next financial year as it struggles to get foreign institutional backers at the right valuation, the Economic Times newspaper said on Tuesday.

The report comes days after larger rival Paytm's dismal market debut that saw its shares tumble more than 27%, raising questions about upcoming offerings in India's until-now red hot IPO market.

MobiKwik has been advised to not go ahead with its IPO as it may be hard to find enough demand from institutional investors, both foreign and domestic, the Economic Times reported, citing sources aware of the discussions.

MobiKwik did not immediately respond to a Reuters' request for a comment.

Paytm's listing, counted to be among the worst in India's large IPOs, also sparked concerns about overvaluation in the domestic equity market and frenzy over internet-based startups with fintech business models.

Backed by Sequoia Capital and India's Bajaj Finance, MobiKwik had filed for an IPO of up to 19 billion rupees ($255.13 million) in July and received a nod for the offering from the securities regulator in October.

The company, founded in 2009, offers several financial services, runs a digital wallet, allows payments for utilities, and provides services such as buy-now-pay-later.

($1 = 74.4720 Indian rupees)

(Reporting by Anuron Kumar Mitra in Bengaluru; editing by Uttaresh.V)