Aussie BNPL stocks crash in H1 as rate hikes puncture growth bubble

Openpay

30/06/2022 01:01

** ASX-listed buy now, pay later (BNPL) stocks have been
battered in H1 due to reduced consumer spending, rising interest
rates, and heightened regulatory scrutiny
    ** Tech giant Apple Inc's  AAPL.O  entry into the sector
have also hammered existing players  urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL1N2XT0W2
    ** Sector in Australia faces a reckoning as circumstances
which fuelled its explosive growth come to an end  urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL8N2XV4A5
    ** Swedish fintech firm Klarna, seen as the sector
bellwether, laid off 10% of its staff in May  urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL2N2XF1D9
    ** Zip Co Ltd  ZIP.AX , which is looking to compete with its
larger rivals and newer entrants in the United States notched
big losses in H1, falling nearly 90% and is set to record its
worst ever half yearly performance
    ** U.S.-based Sezzle  SZL.AX  has also lost 90% of its value
this year
    ** Local shares of Block Inc  SQ2.AX  down over 40% since
its listing on Jan. 20 
    ** Humm Group  HUM.AX , which has exposure to BNPL sector,
down over 50% this year; in June, Latitude Group  LFS.AX 
terminated its A$335 mln offer to buy HUM's consumer unit that
includes its BNPL business  urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL4N2Y33IF
    ** Smaller players like Beforepay Group  B4P.AX  and Openpay
Group  OPY.AX  have also lost a large portion of their value in
H1
    
    

 (Reporting by Harish Sridharan in Bengaluru)
 ((harish.sridharan@thomsonreuters.com))