Indonesia

Super-app Grab rides high into New York debut

1 Dec 2021

The Southeast Asian giant held firm in a difficult year. It’s on track to hit targets set from its record $31 bln SPAC merger, supporting a rich 13 times sales valuation multiple. Margins in its ride-hailing business show the promise of its food-delivery-to-fintech ambitions.

Three’s a good crowd in Indonesia telecoms deal

17 Sep 2021

Combining CK Hutchison’s local 3 unit with Ooredoo’s Indosat produces a $6 bln No. 2 player and synergies of $400 mln. If past industry tie-ups in similar markets are a guide, the Hong Kong and Qatari groups’ deal will also lift rivals’ revenue and cut their costs too.

Jakarta’s battery drive is on a bumpy road

11 Aug 2021

Hyundai and LG are among those investing to make electric vehicle batteries in Indonesia. The nickel producer is limiting exports as it claws up the resource value chain but its long timeline to electrification means technologies may be disrupted before there is enough demand.

Grab’s tiny deal spotlights big Indonesia turf war

30 Jul 2021

A deal to shore up ties with a Jakarta conglomerate recalls the country’s importance for the super-app’s growth ahead of its $40 bln New York debut, and as top local rivals merge. Grab’s Southeast Asian footprint has benefits, but Indonesia carries outsize strategic value.

South Asia bourses face Hong Kong-style IPO test

12 Jul 2021

Bukalapak’s and Zomato’s respective debuts in Indonesia and India will help startups decide whether to list at home. The Fragrant Harbour has proven it has what it takes to attract hot tech names. Mumbai’s stellar secondary market makes it better placed to replicate that success.

AirAsia super-app SPAC will require sick bag

8 Jul 2021

The Malaysian carrier led by Tony Fernandes is swapping a 4.8% stake in its fledgling e-commerce and fintech division for Gojek’s Thai business. The deal imputes a $1 bln valuation, and a sky-high multiple of sales. A planned spin into a public listing promises a dizzying ride.

GoTo steers e-tail to smarter, fiercer last mile

4 Jun 2021

The enlarged Indonesian tech group will make gains in data analytics, helping it keep pace with $130 bln Sea. Getting goods closer to customers will trim order costs and boost on-demand services. It hints at complexities in the pair’s reliance on third-party logistics too.

Indonesian super-app merger grabs at Grab

17 May 2021

Combining Gojek and Tokopedia creates a delivery, mobility, shopping and payments powerhouse barely a month after their Singapore rival’s $40 bln SPAC deal. The first transaction offers clues to the value of the second but ahead of an IPO GoTo must demonstrate bigger is better.

Sea can pass on Southeast Asian deal frenzy

12 Jan 2021

The region’s hot tech companies, Tokopedia, Grab and Gojek, are mulling consolidation. Any of them could be swallowed by Singapore’s $106 bln gaming-to-shopping giant Sea which has a war chest of cash and rich stock. But boss Forrest Li has good reason to sit back.

Tokopedia neatly channels Indonesia’s potential

5 Jan 2021

The online shopping site, valued at $7.5 bln, lags Singapore’s Sea in the country. But the smaller company stands out for its single focus on one of the world’s fastest rebounding and digitalising economies. No wonder everyone from Gojek to Peter Thiel sees it as a hot target.

Indonesia builds sovereign fund with daring design

27 Nov 2020

Buyout firms and Gulf nations are being wooed to invest $15 bln in a government-backed mashup of Singaporean and Indian models. It’s an ambitious effort to finance President Joko Widodo’s development plans, but also faces limits on how much outside money will take the plunge.

Review: Indonesia’s Jokowi learns limits to change

28 Aug 2020

Furniture seller-turned-president Joko Widodo was tipped to end corruption and push reforms. In “Man of Contradictions”, Ben Bland concludes the leader is weak and the hopes placed in him were unrealistic. Even a popular outsider cannot easily take on an entrenched system.

Indonesia cautiously crosses central bank rubicon

9 Jul 2020

Bank Indonesia will buy $28 bln of bonds directly from the government, breaking a long-held taboo. It will refund interest gains, and the securities will be tradeable, providing price transparency. That’s about as credible as an emerging market monetary authority can hope to be.

Poor-country central banks will go awry aping Fed

4 May 2020

Rate-setters from Indonesia to Hungary are copying Fed Chair Jay Powell by buying bonds. Others could well follow. That will curb borrowing costs at a time of rising public spending. But these policymakers run bigger inflation and credibility risks than their developed peers.

Coronabonds can issue social goods

8 Apr 2020

Indonesia sold $4.3 bln worth of bonds, partly to tackle Covid-19. It copies a Chinese template. And an unusually long 50-year tranche found favour with life insurers. Investors welcome spin that makes portfolios look responsible, and this one may go viral faster than most.

Torpor at home lures Thai lender to pricey Jakarta

13 Dec 2019

Bangkok Bank has beaten Japanese rivals to take control of Indonesia's Permata, for some $2.7 bln. StanChart, selling along with a local conglomerate, gets a welcome boost. For Bangkok, though, a deal at near twice the target's book value is a necessary gamble on faster growth.

Gojek founder can re-route Indonesia’s rough ride

12 Nov 2019

Growth slipped to a disappointing 5% and the outlook is glum, with 55% of students ending school barely literate. That’s a bigger challenge for new education minister Nadiem Makarim than Jakarta traffic. This long haul would benefit from entrepreneurial and pragmatic direction.

Asia’s airports fly far higher than its carriers

5 Nov 2019

Thai Airways’ market value has shrunk by a third this year to $600 mln, and the loss-making airline says it is running out of time. Airports of Thailand, by contrast, is worth $38 bln and is a top performer. It’s a light signal for investors eyeing the region’s travel boom.

Gojek CEO takes risky detour into Jakarta politics

21 Oct 2019

The boss of Indonesia’s $10 bln rides-to-video super app has quit to join cabinet. The sagging economy badly needs a tech boost. But rules for digital payments and other areas are in flux, leaving room for conflicts of interest that could hurt the government and the unicorn.

Indonesia can learn from Hong Kong’s unrest

4 Oct 2019

Unpopular legislative changes have triggered street clashes, just as in the former British colony. It’s early enough for President Joko Widodo to defuse the tension and salvage his anti-graft credentials. Otherwise, tackling labour laws and other thorny fixes will get tougher.