Tokopedia, one of Indonesia’s biggest startups till date, may be eyeing an initial public offering (IPO) worth at least $1 billion next year, according to a report by Reuters. If successful, this could be the largest overseas listing by a southeast Asian start up till date. The company seeks to achieve this by opting for a dual listing in USA and Indonesia, which might value the company upwards of $10 billion.
Last Wednesday, a Tokopedia spokeswoman said in a statement that the company was considering accelerating plans to go public and had appointed the investment banking company Morgan Stanley and the Financial services company Citibank to be advisors in this regard. With today’s report from Reuters, it seems like we have a window as to when that IPO may take place, although nothing has been confirmed by the startup.
Employing the dual listing plan, Tokopedia intends to not only tap into the deep pockets of U.S. investors (who have great interest for tech related stocks), but also its homeland Indonesia. The company already commands respect in the overseas market, which is evident from the fact that Google (along with Temasek Holdings) invested $350 million in the startup in November 2020.
Not many Southeast Asian tech companies are listed in the U.S. and should Tokopedia decide to list there, it will offer investors an alternative means to bet on the region’s growing tech market.
Moreover, this is the perfect time for tech related IPOs, since the industry has seen a huge boom ever since the COVID-19 pandemic hit. In fact, Tokopedia is not the only firm looking for a listing, as many like Unity, Roblox, Ant Group and Airbnb have already signed up for IPOs this year.
Since being launched by William Tanuwijaya and Leontinus Alpha Edison in the year 2009, the company has managed to grow into a tech giant. The startup has received capital injection for global venture capitals including global tech investment firm SoftBank, and Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba Group Holding.
