From Singapore to India, Pine Labs' Strategic Relocation Approved

In a strategic move to streamline its operations and reduce costs, fintech firm Pine Labs has received approval from a Singapore court to relocate its base to India. This decision, highlighted in a recent regulatory filing seen by TechCrunch, will merge Pine Labs' Singapore and Indian entities, significantly enhancing operational efficiency. The amalgamation is expected to lead to a reduction in overhead costs, including administrative and statutory compliances, thereby allowing the company to better allocate and utilize its resources by avoiding duplication of efforts between the two countries.

Pine Labs operates as a comprehensive merchant commerce platform, offering point-of-sale (POS) services that enable merchants to accept both plastic card and QR-based payments. Beyond POS services, the company provides a variety of products including buy now pay later (BNPL) options, invoice management, gifting solutions, and e-commerce enablement. The firm, supported by prominent investors like Temasek and Peak XV Partners, raised $150 million from Alpha Wave in 2022, achieving a valuation of approximately $5 billion. Although Pine Labs initially planned an overseas IPO, this was postponed due to volatile market conditions.

The decision by Pine Labs to relocate aligns with a broader trend among fintech firms such as PhonePe and Groww, which have also moved their domiciles back to India. This shift is driven by the rapid adoption of technology by local consumers and the expanding market opportunities within India. For instance, Walmart-owned PhonePe moved from Singapore to India in 2022, incurring Rs 8,000 crore in taxes during the transition. Similarly, Groww's founder and CEO, Lalit Keshre, recently announced the company's completed domicile transition from the US to India as of March 2024, with Razorpay also in the process of relocating from the US to India.