Bukalapak Reportedly Starts Considering IPO, Continues to Strive for Business Diversification

News about unicorn Local people who are planning to conduct an IPO have resurfaced, this time it's Bukalapak's turn. According to sources Bloomberg, they have started to explore the potential go public on the IDX (with a small number of shares), then it will continue to be listed on the US stock exchange through the SPAC mechanism. The company is said to be in preliminary talks with several blank check companies and has already begun to cooperate with investment bank to explore.

Through SPAC, it is estimated that Bukalapak's valuation will increase to $4-5 billion from its current position of around $3,5 billion. In addition to Ant Group, GIC, and EMTEK Group, Bukalapak is supported by a number of investors and corporations including GIC, Naver Corp, Microsoft, and Standard Chartered. In Indonesia itself, according to several research findings, Bukalapak is in the third position after Shopee and Tokopedia -- competition in the landscape online marketplace high-tension with fast business dynamics.

To confirm the plan, DailySocial had contacted the President of Bukapalak Teddy Oetomo. But he still refused to comment. Meanwhile, company representatives said, after operating for 11 years now the focus is on building a sustainable business to create a long-term impact on MSMEs and the Indonesian people through the platform. online and online-to-offline reliable.

This news emerged after the CEO of Bukalapak Rachmat Kaimuddin on one occasion said, "We still want to be independent and run Bukalapak as a standalone company. IPO is one of the options to be able to get funds and indeed technology companies at certain times want an IPO. We are open to that option and are now preparing the infrastructure.”

In the writing, founder and former President of Bukapak Fajrin Rasyid signaled his support for Indonesian startups for IPOs. One thing he emphasized, that net benefits for this country it would be better if the IPO was done domestically, or at least dual listings at home and abroad.

Strive for business diversification

Bukalapak is still trying to continue to pursue profitability by exploring various sectors outside its core business as a service E-commerce. For example, through a subsidiary named Open Joint Investment, they want to explore the mutual fund investment business, especially targeting the public underserved. As is known, these investment instruments are now gradually gaining popularity along with the increase in financial literacy of various groups of people.

In an upload on LinkedIn, Bukalapak COO Willix Halim published that his party was recruiting for various strategic positions for a new business unit. In his sentence, he wrote that the ability to speak Tagalog (the native language of the Philippines) would be prioritized. There is speculation that Bukalapak is trying to explore the Philippine market with a new business. Regarding this, we have also tried to confirm with Bukalapak, but they chose not to comment.

Business diversification is an important strategy for Bukalapak. Relation to supporting business E-commerce, the “Mitra Bukalapak” warung partnership program has found a fairly strong performance – it can even be said to be one of the most significant. Throughout 2020, said Rachmat, the growth of this line reached 50%. The business unit with the legal name "Buka Mitra Indonesia" also has its own CEO, Howard Gani. Currently, Bukalapak has pocketed 100 million users with 7 million partners.

Bukalapak becomes unicorn the fourth which is rumored to be listed on the stock exchange soon. Previously Gojek, Tokopedia, and Traveloka it has been widely discussed regarding its plans for an IPO through SPAC. In addition to the business that is already growing rapidly, this time is considered to be the right momentum to carry out the corporate action – in terms of market conditions and readiness.