March 16 (Reuters) - Walmart ( WMT )-backed Indian

fintech firm PhonePe has temporarily paused its

initial public offering plans, citing geopolitical tensions and

volatility in global capital markets, the company said on

Monday.

PhonePe plans to resume its listing process once there is

stability in global capital markets, the firm's statement said.

The company runs India's most popular digital payments app and

aims to list at a valuation of between $9 billion and $10.5

billion, Reuters had reported earlier this month.

Walmart ( WMT ) will trim its stake in PhonePe by ‌about 12% in the

IPO, while Tiger Global and Microsoft ( MSFT ) plan to exit

their stakes, according to the firm's IPO filing. The three

firms will sell around 50.7 million shares in the ⁠offering, and

PhonePe will not issue any new shares.

"We sincerely hope for a swift return to peace in all the

affected regions. We remain committed to a public listing in

India," said Sameer Nigam, PhonePe's chief executive officer.

Conflict in the Middle East has rattled market sentiment

globally as investors grapple with the prospects of prolonged

hostilities.