GoTo’s IPO looms large as date with jittery stock market awaits

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GoTo Group is set to raise US$1.1 billion at a projected market value of about US$28 billion when it debuts on the Indonesian Stock Exchange (IDX) on April 11 in one of Asia’s biggest initial public offerings (IPO) this year. While the IPO of Indonesia’s largest tech firm – born from the merger of super app Gojek and ecommerce giant Tokopedia – has long been in the works, its timing has raised a few eyebrows.

Investor appetite for tech stocks has significantly weakened in light of rising inflation and strained geopolitical relations among the world’s largest economic powers. GoTo will only have to look at the troubles of Bukalapak (BUKA, IDX), Grab (GRAB, NDAQ), and Sea Group (SE, NYSE) to grasp investor pessimism in the industry. Its Southeast Asian peers have more than halved in market value over the last six months. These trends can be clearly seen among tech firms across the globe.

However, with its original IPO plan pushed back due to regulatory hurdles late last year, GoTo is determined to see this one through and bring in some much-needed cash. In this premium story, Tech in Asia not only brings GoTo’s rationale behind its IPO to the fore but also clarifies investor concern over its “extravagant” valuation, which would make it Indonesia’s fourth most valuable listed company.

Image credit: Timmy Loen

Staying with super apps, Capital A (CAPITALA, KLSE) has hit a major snag on its mission to become one. The AirAsia parent firm has embarked on a major fundraising push, aiming to collect 2.5 billion ringgit (US$592 million) as it looks to rechristen itself into a tech company. However, negotiations for one of the main sources of funding for the tranche – a 500 million ringgit (US$118 million) club facility backed by state-owned financial insurer Danajamin – broke down.

Despite successfully raising 1 billion ringgit through a rights issuance and US$225 million from foreign banks, questions over Capital A’s dreams of super-app stardom remain. My colleague Emmanuel breaks down the options Capital A needs to consider if it wants to plug a Danajamin-shaped funding void and analyzes the issues that come with its tricky pivot into the tech space.

The scale of the task on hand for Capital A takes center stage in this premium story, which sheds light on the challenges that lay ahead as the company plans to break up Indonesia’s food delivery duopoly through AirAsia Food.

— Shravanth

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Image credit: Timmy Loen

🇸🇬 Sea Group (SE, NYSE): Shopee, the ecommerce arm of internet giant Sea, has decided to shut down its operations in India. This move follows the country’s ban on Free Fire, the best-selling game from Sea’s digital entertainment unit Garena, in February. The exit will result in the layoff of over 300 staff.

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