March 12 (Reuters) - Shares of PayPay were indicated to open 37.5% above their offer price in their Nasdaq debut on Thursday, giving the SoftBank-backed Japanese payments app a potential valuation of $14.71 billion.
PayPay's stock was indicated to open at $22, compared with the $16 offer price. The company and an investment fund controlled by the SoftBank Group sold about 55 million American Depositary Shares below the marketed range of $17 to $20 to raise roughly $880 million.
PayPay pushed ahead with the offering despite the conflict in the Middle East roiling global markets and weighing on risk sentiment.
The U.S. IPO market has also struggled to find its footing over the past month, with sharp market swings nudging some companies to delay their listing plans.
"With new listings being priced lower to offer after-market appeal, it increasingly looks we are in an IPO 'buyers' market' where companies aim for stable debuts and a positive launch story," said IPOX Research Associate Lukas Muehlbauer.
"While initial low pricing can mean the company leaves money on the table, it can help create positive aftermarket momentum and build support for future secondary offerings, which will be in the interest of selling owner SoftBank."
The IPO was initially expected in December, but the historic U.S. government shutdown last fall delayed the regulatory review.
PayPay marks the first U.S. listing of a SoftBank majority investment since the blockbuster 2023 IPO of chip designer Arm.
The listing comes as SoftBank steps up its push into artificial intelligence, including its "all-in" bet on OpenAI.
DOMESTIC STRENGTH
Jointly formed by SoftBank and Yahoo Japan in 2018, PayPay entered the market by waiving transaction fees for small and medium-sized merchants for up to three years to spur adoption.
The Tokyo-based company has played a vital role in encouraging Japanese consumers to move away from cash by offering rebates on its payments app.
Within years of its launch, PayPay achieved $100 billion in gross merchandise volume and has become one of the most widely used digital wallets in Japan. It had roughly 72 million registered users at the end of 2025.
"The appeal of the company is that it's one of the few fintech IPOs that have already won its domestic market... The domestic strength gives the company some insulation from the geopolitical, tariff and AI-related concerns weighing on many other technology names," Muehlbauer said.
Japan still remains a global laggard in payments technology, leaving ample runway for growth as digital adoption accelerates.
Initially focused on cashless payments, PayPay has since expanded into credit, banking, securities and insurance to become an all-in-one digital finance platform.
Last month, PayPay announced a partnership with card giant Visa as it looks to expand into the U.S.
(Reporting by Arasu Kannagi Basil and Utkarsh Shetti in Bengaluru; Editing by Sriraj Kalluvila)
