Microsoft Leads Indonesian eCommerce Firm Bukalapak’s $234 Million

Bukalapak, an Indonesian eCommerce company, has raised $234 million in a funding round, Reuters reported.

The round was led by Microsoft, Singapore sovereign wealth fund GIC, and local media conglomerate Emtek, according to Reuters. The company was founded 11 years ago and was worth more than $2.5 billion in 2019.

There has recently been a frenzy of interest in Southeast Asian tech companies, with global businesses hoping to get pieces of the pie, looking at the prospect of earning billions of dollars on new startup listings, Reuters reported.

Bukalapak is planning to list publicly in Indonesia, according to Reuters. There, the company has enlisted the services of Bank Mandiri’s securities arm, Mandiri Sekuritas. Afterward, Bukalapak is looking at a special purpose acquisition company (SPAC) listing in the U.S.

Bukalapak is expected to face steep public market competition from Gojek, an Indonesia-based ridesharing and payments company, along with Tokopedia, a larger eCommerce competitor, Reuters reported. Those two companies have been said to be approaching a deal for a merger before a potential dual listing in Jakarta and the U.S.

Grab, another popular Southeast Asian startup, announced the world’s largest blank-check company deal ever, putting the finishing touches on a near-$40 billion merger with SPAC Altimeter Growth Corp., according to Reuters.

eCommerce has been a huge force for change in retail over the past year, with a survey of 1 billion consumers from 40 countries finding that global eCommerce sales rose 58 percent in the first quarter of the year. U.S. customers grew domestic online sales by 45 percent, which was a quick pace that even outstripped the 43 percent progression over the last holiday season.

Data showed that the daily online spending for the quarter peaked on March 17, when the number showed a 117 percent increase over the year, and which came as the most recent round of stimulus checks were disbursed.