Go-Jek reaches close to India launch, to raise $2 Bn from Tencent, JD.com

Within a few months of raising $1.5 billion, Indonesian ride-hailing firm Go-Jek is planning to raise another $2 billion from Tencent Holdings Ltd and JD.com. The new funding is set to be completed later this year and the company plans to deploy the fund for the expansion in the Southeast Asia region.

It has earlier said that it would invest $500 million to enter Vietnam, Singapore, Thailand and the Philippines.

Apart from the Southeast Asia expansion, the development comes at a time when Indonesian ride-hailing firm Go-Jek is planning to launch its two-wheeler service in India, according to an earlier report. The company had plans to introduce the service in the country in the second half of 2018.

During the last funding round, the company’s India plan was leaked in media. The company had then raised funds from a dozen investors like investment management firm BlackRock and tech giant Google and achieved valuation up to $5 billion.

The new funding round will definitely give a push to its India plan if the company is serious about the launch.

Launched in 2011 in Jakarta, Go-Jek claims to have over 200,000 drivers across some 25 cities in Indonesia. It delivers everything from ride and meals to groceries cleaners, masseuses, and hairdressers across the Indonesian capital.

Go-Jek claims to process more than 100 million transactions for its 20-25 million monthly users in Indonesia alone.

Meanwhile, Go-Jek’s biggest competitor in the Southeast Asian region Grab is also leaving no-stone-unturned to capture the region, especially Indonesia, Southeast Asia’s biggest economy.

Last month, Grab announced to raise an investment of $1 billion from a clutch of financial firms, including global asset manager OppenheimerFunds and China’s Ping An Capital.

In March this year, Uber sold its South East Asia business to the Singapore-based company reportedly in exchange for a 27.5 per cent stake.

Amidst this, Grab is also gradually entering the Indian ecosystem via payment method. Early this year, it acquired payment company iKaaz for an undisclosed amount. With this acquisition, the Softbank-backed company plans to expand its digital payments platform GrabPay.

The development was first reported by Reuters.