Softbank Will Again Inject Fresh Funds for Grab and Tokopedia

Softbank Group said it would soon add an investment of $2 billion (more than Rp.28 trillion) to Grab. It is planned that the funds will be used for the development of urban transportation networks next generation, as well as the transformation of critical services such as the healthcare industry.

This Japanese conglomerate is also ready to add investment to its other portfolio in Indonesia, namely Tokopedia.

This announcement was made by Chairman and CEO of Softbank Masayoshi Son after meeting President Joko Widodo this morning (29/7) at the Merdeka Palace, Jakarta. Accompanied by the CEO Grab Anthony Tan, President of Grab Indonesia Ridzki Kramadibrata, and Tokopedia CEO William Tanuwidjaya. Coordinating Minister for Maritime Affairs Luhut Binsar Pandjaitan and Head of the Investment Coordinating Board Thomas Lembong also attended the meeting.

"We're going to invest $2 billion through Grab. Tokopedia is also very, very important for that we will add investment there so that it grows more rapidly," said Son as quoted from Bloomberg, Monday (29/7).

Separately, in an official statement, Son detailed injections for Grab This will be used to drive digitization in several critical services and infrastructure projects. Grab and Softbank will create a next generation transportation network for Indonesia with ecosystem electric vehicle environmentally friendly.

The two companies will also develop solutions geo-mapping for Indonesia to encourage domestic development, as well as the adoption of future technologies.

Not only that, as a long-term commitment, Grab will set up a second headquarter in Indonesia. Later this head office will become the home for the R&D Center and head office for business GrabFood.

Thus, it is possible Grab serve the unique needs of consumers in Indonesia and focus on creating solutions that support the empowerment of small entrepreneurs and agents Grab-Kudo.

This head office will provide career opportunities for thousands of Indonesian human resources and enhance talent expertise in the field of technology through partnerships with leading universities in Indonesia.

CEO Grab Anthony Tan explained, his party has a long-term commitment to sustainable development of the country. He believes that through investment in the digitization of essential services and infrastructure projects, Indonesia can realize Indonesia's ambition to become the largest digital economy in Southeast Asia.

Meanwhile, Luhut Binsar Pandjaitan added that the development of electric vehicles would be an experimental project in Jakarta. He targets preparations for this development to be completed within three years, in line with Softbank's investment.

Luhut also revealed Softbank's investment commitment for Indonesia in the next three years could reach $5 billion (more than Rp70 trillion), including injections of new capital for Grab of $2 billion.

According to him, this investment will be channeled by Softbank to small startup companies like Aruna which are also engaged in the maritime sector. "We are currently in discussion, maybe small business actors too, not only Grab and Tokopedia," explained Luhut quoted from Dataword.