Indonesia’s MatahariMall is delayed until summer

(Update 4/24/15: After speaking with MatahariMall CEO Hadi Wenas, Tech in Asia has made an important update to this article. The US$200 million that’s being raised by Bank of America Merrill Lynch and Credit Suisse is not part of MatahariMall’s next funding round, but instead just part of the US$500 million that Lippo Group claims to have earmarked for the project. This is important because it gives insight into the actual amount of liquid capital MatahariMall is working with currently. The title was also amended to reflect this change.)

Indonesia’s MatahariMall was supposed to go live sometime in March or April, according to statements made by Lippo Group. However, when you visit the site today, it now says “Coming soon, Summer 2015.”

Despite dumping a US$500 million fortune into the ecommerce project at the end of February, Lippo Group is evidently already thinking about its next round of funding for its mission to create the “Alibaba of Indonesia.”

Today, Lippo announced that Credit Suisse and Bank of America Merrill Lynch will be in charge of raising US$200 million for MatahariMall’s next round of funding. In a statement, Lippo Group representative John Riady said:

We welcome positive interest from investors. In recent months, MatahariMall has made a lot of progress and now is the right time to explore this cooperation. We are pleased to be working with Credit Suisse and Bank of America to find partners who have the same vision as we do.

January Metzger, managing director and head of technology, media, and telecommunications at Credit Suisse Asia Pacific, said Lippo’s track record across various sectors including property, retail, health services, and pay television make him confident about the upcoming fundraising. Rothschild was also appointed as financial advisor for Lippo Group in the transaction, according to a statement from Lippo.

It’s possible that the delay and the fundraising are completely unrelated. But the fact that MatahariMall is looking to amass more capital before the site goes live is sure to raise eyebrows and speculation in Indonesia, as the project has been a prominent topic in the local media in recent months.

With the site’s delay, it also looks like Lazada Indonesia will have a brief reprieve for strategy refinement before it’s forced to deal with its soon-to-be largest competitor in the archipelago.

Tech in Asia is reaching out to MatahariMall CEO Hadi Wenas for more information.