SoftBank, a leading investor in the Indian tech start-up market, has announced that it may invest $5 billion to $10 billion in the country by 2022, provided it finds the right companies. According to a Bloomberg report, Soffbank investment advisor Chief Executive Officer Rajeev Mishra said he is ready to invest more in India if he finds valuations of companies attractive. The move signals the aggression of the Japanese investor, who has already invested $3 billion in the country so far this year, on various companies in the startup ecosystem. Amidst the recent gold rush in the country, many of these companies are soon to be listed for IPOs.
Speaking at Bloomberg’s 6th ‘India Economic Forum 2021’, Mishra said that SoftBank has been investing in India for more than 10 years. He said it has invested around USD 14 billion in the last six years.
“So far this year, we have invested USD 3 billion and are looking to invest more. It is not in three or four companies, we have invested in 24 companies in India. “So, it is not like there is a feeding frenzy for three or four properties. Tech companies, ranging from education, e-commerce to Ola Electric to fintech, are there,” Mishra said on Thursday.
The top official said a lot of private capital is coming into India backed by a strong private capital market. Many companies where SoftBank acts as an investor are going for IPO. These include Policybazaar, Delhivery and Oyo. Companies like Ola are also looking to approach market regulator SEBI for listing in the coming months. PaytmBacked by SoftBank, closed its IPO on Thursday.
“If we find the right companies, we can invest $5 billion to $10 billion. If we get the right opportunities at the right valuations,” Mishra was quoted as saying by PTI.
“We came and re-invested in Flipkart, which we exited in 2018… We have made a lot of investments in the last three years, we will put fresh money in them (as follow-on investments) as they raise fresh capital. The amount of capital being raised by founders is no longer as high as it was a few years ago, he said. Mishra pointed out that SoftBank has seen large checks for companies like Paytm and Oyo in the past.
“They (founders) are raising USD 150-300 million. Unlike two-three years ago, when we could have deployed a billion dollars, the ticket size has come down dramatically. So 3-4 billion To invest the dollar, it would take like investing in 15 companies.”
“I think fintech is the biggest opportunity in India because there is less banking in India. We had Paytm and Policybazaar, we are looking at some other fintech companies, because financial inclusion is very important in India…of course education investment Another big part of it,” he said. Mishra also said that India is a “major part”. About SoftBank’s growth ambitions.
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