Brief: Tencent’s investment in Go-Jek is ‘around $100m to $150m’

Go-Jek, arguably Indonesia’s biggest and most well-known startup, is best known for its motorbike-hailing service. Photo credit: Go-Jek.

The news:

• Tencent has invested around US$100 million to US$150 million in Indonesian ride-hailing startup Go-Jek, sources have told Reuters.
• In May, TechCrunch reported that Go-Jek had closed a massive US$1.2 billion round, supposedly led by the Chinese internet giant.
• Neither Tencent nor Go-Jek have confirmed the sources’ claims.

Why it matters:

• If Go-Jek is indeed raising a total of US$1.2 billion in this round, this means many other investors are participating alongside Tencent. One of those might be Warburg, which already participated in Go-Jek’s US$550 million round last August, according to Reuter‘s sources.
• China’s tech companies are looking to be part of Southeast Asia’s growth opportunities. Tencent has previously invested in Singapore-based gaming and ecommerce startup Sea, formerly known as Garena, in 2013.
• Another Chinese behemoth, Alibaba, just increased its ownership of ecommerce firm Lazada to 83 percent, spending US$1 billion. Lazada is also based in Singapore and operates in the region.

Source: Reuters.