Monday, September 25, 2023

Telkomsel’s Investment in Gojek Is Key to Stay Competitive in Global Stage: Economist

July 8, 2022 | 10:38 am
SHARE
A group of teenagers playing with their phones in Medan, North Sumatera, last April. (Antara Photo/Septianda Perdana)
A group of teenagers playing with their phones in Medan, North Sumatera, last April. (Antara Photo/Septianda Perdana)

Jakarta. Recently, there have been a lot of discussions regarding Telkomsel's investment in Indonesia's ride-hailing decacorn Gojek, now known as GoTo Gojek Indonesia, after a record-breaking merger with local e-commerce giant Tokopedia.

It is interesting to see this from an economic and investment perspective, as the global telecommunication sector is facing many challenges with voice and message revenue continuing to decline.

On the other hand, Indonesia's internet economy continues to swell, reaching $70 billion and signifying an optimistic projection of $146 billion, according to the economy SEA 2021 report by Google, Temasek, and Bain. 

Harris Turisno, an economist and member of the House of Representatives Commission VI, overseeing trade, industrial, investment, cooperatives, small and medium scale enterprises, and state-owned enterprises affairs, weighed in on the discussion.

Advertisement

Harris, who is also a working committee member in Indonesia's Stated Owned Enterprise investment in sharing economy company, said Telkomsel's investment in Gojek is necessary to overcome the decline in the voice and message business.

Telkomsel needs to find a new revenue stream to support its sustainable business growth as a telco company. The investment in Gojek, the largest base ride-hailing in Indonesia, brought synergy more than business profit. 

Harris stated that the collaboration between these two giant companies could bring social and economic value to the more extensive base. For instance, they could collaborate on a synergy program where Gojek drivers or SMEs use Telkomsel as their provider and provide special packages.

"Telkomsel invested in Gojek at a lower price than [the company's] IPO price," referring to GoTo Gojek Indonesia's Rp 13.7 trillion ($913.9 million) initial public offerings last April. 

"It showed that there's a lot of potential growth in the future and unrealized gain or loss in the capital market is part of the business activities," Harris said. 

He said many Telkomsel peers in the global market executed this type of investment to stay competitive.

"A sharing economy company like Gojek is not for a short-term but long-term business plan as it's not only considering gain or loss but sustainable growth that will support company fundamentally and continue to contribute to the Indonesian economy," Harris said.

Tags: Keywords:
SHARE

POPULAR READS


News 2 hours ago

Thousands of Armenians Flee Nagorno-Karabakh as Erdogan Visits Azerbaijan

The Armenian government said that 4,850 Nagorno-Karabakh residents had fled to Armenia as of midday Monday.
News 2 hours ago

Muhammad Sejahtera Wins Indonesia's First Gold Medal in Hangzhou Asian Games

Indonesia's medal tally now stands at six, including one gold, one silver, and four bronze medals.
News 2 hours ago

UK Keeps Eye on Smart City Nusantara: British Envoy

The UK is keeping an eye eye on Indonesia’s new capital city of Nusantara, and was open to see if opportunities for a partnership.
Business 8 hours ago

Indika Energy Sells Coal Mine to Petrindo Jaya for $218 Million

The company aims to increase the share of non-coal businesses in its overall revenue to 50 percent by 2025.
Lifestyle 12 hours ago

Colossal Music Fest Semesta Berpesta Comes to Surabaya ​​​​​​​

The two-day event brought a line-up packed with pop stars and rock bands, including J-Rocks and Okaay.
COPYRIGHT © 2023 JAKARTA GLOBE. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED