Sinar Mas units set to invest $225m into Indonesian e-wallet Dana (Updated)

Update (March 4, 10.00 a.m. SGT): This article was updated to include the US$25 million funding from Bank Sinarmas.

Indonesian conglomerate Sinar Mas Group is set to invest US$225 million into Elang Andalan Nusantara, the Emtek Group unit that operates local e-wallet service Dana. Around US$200 million will be channeled through Sinar Mas subsidiary DSST Dana Gemilang, and the rest will come from its banking arm Bank Sinarmas.

Photo credit: Dana

According to a disclosure to the Indonesia Stock Exchange, DSST will become one of the largest shareholders of Dana after the deal. The process is pending agreement on some closing conditions and approvals from regulators.

Launched in 2018, Dana is also backed by Chinese payments giant Ant Financial. The Indonesian firm’s founder and CEO, Vincent Henry Iswaratioso, previously worked as the Indonesian country head for Alipay.

Before launching Dana, Emtek Group acquired e-wallet developer Espay and payment gateway Doku, which both provided infrastructure and an e-money license to the media conglomerate.

Currently, Dana is one of the largest e-wallet services in the country in terms of monthly active users, competing with the likes of GoPay, Ovo, and ShopeePay.

See also: Indonesia fintech hits hurdle with new rules on foreign control

Rumors of Sinar Mas’ interest in acquiring or investing in Dana have popped up since last year, following a merger between Gojek and Tokopedia in May 2021. Ecommerce giant Tokopedia sold its stake in Ovo to focus on GoPay, which is now the default payment method on its platform.

The move left Ovo in limbo, but the partnership between Grab – Ovo’s biggest shareholder – and Emtek Group has opened up more possibilities for the e-wallet.