India's Paytm raises $1 billion in fresh funding

Indian digital payments company Paytm said on Monday it has raised fresh funds from a group of investors, including existing backers such as SoftBank's Vision Fund and Alibaba's Ant Financial.

Paytm did not officially disclose details of the funding, but a source said the Indian company raised $1 billion (£779.42 million) in the latest round.

Accounts advised by T. Rowe Price Associates were among the new investors for the fund, Paytm said in a statement.

Financial daily Economic Times quoted Paytm Chief Executive Officer Vijay Shekhar Sharma as saying the round would lift the company's valuation to $16 billion.

The company will expand into insurance, lending and investments and invest 100 billion rupees ($1.39 billion) over the next three years to include more users in the country, Paytm said.