Indonesia tech giant GoTo raises $1.3 bn ahead of IPO

JAKARTA: Indonesia’s biggest tech firm GoTo said it has raised some $1.3 billion ahead of a planned initial public offering (IPO), including investment from Google and China’s Tencent.

The pre-IPO fundraising, announced Thursday, follows the May merger of ride-hailing giant GoJek and e-tailer Tokopedia to form GoTo, which together generated some $22 billion in transactions last year, according to the companies.

Singapore’s state investment fund Temasek, Fidelity International and Abu Dhabi Investment Authority were among the other investors, GoTo said in a statement.

“Other investors are expected to further join the pre-IPO fundraising round ahead of the final close in the coming weeks,” it added.

The funds would be earmarked for growing GoTo’s customer base and logistics network, and expanding online financial services, it said.

Southeast Asia is one of the world’s fastest-growing digital commerce markets and GoTo’s IPO, expected next year, could see it valued at more than $30 billion, experts have said.

In August, Indonesian online marketplace Bukalapak netted a national record IPO after raising more than $1.5 billion on the Jakarta stock exchange.