JAKARTA – Indonesian online marketplace Bukalapak netted a national record initial public offering today after raising more than US$1.5 billion (RM6.3 billion) on the Jakarta exchange.
The e-commerce platform was founded in 2010 by a trio of college friends and has since grown to be the country’s fourth largest tech company.
Bukalapak claims it has more than 100 million active users – more than one in every three people across the sprawling Southeast Asian archipelago nation.
Shares in the firm jumped by nearly 25% from the open in trade today, marking what Indonesian Stock Exchange Inarno Djajadi said was the most lucrative debut listing in the bourse’s history.
“This moment is historic and marks a new era,” he added.
Still loss-making, Bukalapak is expected to turn profitable within three years, company president Teddy Oetomo told Bloomberg TV.
Its listing was watched closely by investors as other Indonesian tech firms prepare to go public, including regional ride-hailing giant Gojek and travel services app Traveloka. – AFP, August 6, 2021
