Amazon Reportedly Had Preliminary Go-Jek Investment Talks

In a move that could grow its services into a populous new market, Amazon has reportedly held discussions with Indonesian ride-hailing firm Go-Jek on a partnership per unnamed sources in a published report. The companies have reportedly talked about an agreement that would have Amazon invest in Go-Jek and tap into the firm’s Indonesian delivery infrastructure, The Wall Street Journal reported, citing an unnamed source.

A spokesperson for Amazon said the eTailer doesn’t make comments on “rumors and speculation” per the report. And the paper noted that Go-Jek didn’t reply to a request for comment immediately. As it stands, Amazon would be tapping into a populus market by expanding into Indonesia.

There, online shopping sales in terms of gross merchandising volume reached $12.2 billion in 2018. They should jump to $53 billion by 2025 per a Temasek Holdings and Google report. Amazon has a lucrative business in cloud computing and dominates online shopping in the U.S. (It has also moved into new offerings such as entertainment and groceries.)

Amazon in recent years, however, has moved into new markets like Australia and India. It would be up against popular retailers like Tokopedia, Lazada Group and Shopee. Usman Akhtar, a consulting firm Bain & Company partner based in Jakarta, noted in the report, “There’s a lot of growth and a lot of competition.” Logistical challenges also exist, he noted, as Indonesia is made up of over 17,000 islands.

In separate news, Go-Jek notched a $100 million in funding from existing investor Astra as it the Indonesia ride-hailing company seeks to grow regionally per reports in March. The investment was said to be part of the company’s current Series F round, according to news the time.

The funding is reportedly to help the firm grow its offerings in Southeast Asia. Go-Jek competitor Grab, however, recently took in $2 billion in funding via a Series H round and was working to bring that investment up to $5 billion per reports at the time.