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Hello readers,
We’re 79% of the way through 2021. So heads up: If you’ve yet to complete your New Year’s resolutions, you have 21% of the year left to go.
One of my resolutions this year was to start investing in tech companies. Don’t ask me why I only decided to do so after two years of working in Tech in Asia. But yes, I finally bought my first few shares last month – cue internal screaming of “I’m an adult now!”
As a newbie tech investor, I am excited about Southeast Asia’s upcoming initial public offerings, and I’ve already zoomed in on a few companies. At the same time, I’m a little nervous. That could also be the case for other investors who are deciding whether or not to buy Bukalapak shares.
Today we look at,
- Bukalapak’s roller-coaster share price
- A Singapore-based startup making a swag electric motorbike
- Other newsy highlights such as Linkedin shuts features and Singapore company acquires three startups
PREMIUM SUMMARY
Why Bukalapak’s share price isn’t taking off
Bukalapak made headlines when it was gearing up to go public and when it held its IPO in August. With all the buzz, it was unsurprising that Bukalapak’s share price soared almost 25% on its first day. But two days later, it plunged. And even when the ecommerce firm unveiled a positive earnings report less than a month later, the stock price didn’t climb. So what’s going on?
- On the safe side: For conservative investors, the price-to-book (PB) ratio is an important metric, and anything over 10x would be considered overpriced. Bukalapak’s PB ratio was at 36.5x, which might have turned off some investors.
- Another ratio… is Bukalapak’s price-to-sales ratio of 51.7x at IPO price, which some investors find to be too high. For comparison, the recent price-to-sales ratios for Tesla, Amazon, and Sea Group are 18.95, 3.71, and 23.74, respectively.
- Grow big or go home: But for some future-oriented investors, these ratios are less concerning as Bukalapak could still grow exponentially. An entrepreneur said that she bought Bukalapak shares because of the company’s future prospects and after seeing its year-on-year revenue growth.
Read more: Bukalapak’s share price a warning to GoTo, Traveloka?
STARTUP SPOTLIGHT
Zooming to sustainability
Discussions about sustainability are everywhere these days. And jumping on the bandwagon is Ion Mobility, a Singapore-based electric vehicle maker that raised US$6.8 million in a seed round co-led by Quest Ventures and TNB Aura.
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