JAKARTA, Jan 18 — Alphabet Inc’s Google , Singapore state investor Temasek Holdings and Chinese online platform Meituan-Dianping are investing in a fundraising round of Indonesian ride-hailing start-up Go-Jek, sources familiar with the matter said.
Go-Jek’s existing investors such as global private equity firms KKR & Co LP and Warburg Pincus LLC are also participating in the funding round, which is raising about US$1.2 billion (RM 4.75 billion) in total, the sources said.
They said the funding round opened last year and is expected to close in a few weeks.
The funding by prominent investors including Google gives Go-Jek greater firepower to tackle competition at home from Grab and Uber Technologies Inc which are viewing Indonesia, Southeast Asia’s most populous country, as a large potential market.
“As a strategic investor, Google can add a lot to Go-Jek’s business,” said one source.
It was not immediately clear how much the investors are pumping in individually.
Google, KKR, Warburg and Temasek declined to comment. Meituan-Dianping and Go-Jek did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
The people declined to be identified as they were not authorised to speak to the media.
Go-Jek, which began as a ride-hailing app for motorcycle taxis, operates mainly in Indonesia but is developing a food delivery business.
Its mobile payment business, Go-Pay, is also growing rapidly.
Reuters reported last year that JD.com Inc was investing about US$100 million in Go-Jek.
This followed an investment by Chinese social media and online entertainment firm Tencent Holdings Ltd, which is also an investor in JD.com. — Reuters
