Investvine-Apr 9
Indonesia’s highly popular ride-hailing service Go-Jek is close to its a number of announcements that it will expand within Southeast Asia and enter the markets in the Philippines, Thailand, Vietnam and Singapore. The move comes as US rival Uber is withdrawing from the region, leaving Grab as Go-Jek’s major competitor.
According to various reports, Go-Jek is set to announce its first expansion to another country in Southeast Asia in the “next few weeks.” Observers believe it will be either Singapore or the Philippines as the company is reportedly already hiring former Uber drivers in these countries.
Further announcements on the expansion to the other countries are expected to be made by Go-Jek no later than by the middle of the year. Vietnam media reported that the company has already started recruiting personnel in the country’s two main urban centers Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City.
Go-Jek, backed by Google, China’s Tencent Holdings, Singapore’s Temasek sovereign fund and a number of venture capital firms, has enough money in its war chest to fund the regional expansion amid Uber’s withdrawal which came as a “great opportunity” for the Indonesian start-up, analysts noted.
Late last year, Go-Jek founder and CEO Nadiem Makarim told Reuters that “almost all Southeast Asian countries are on the radar over the next three, six to 12 months,” but the roll-out would first focus on countries with large populations and those that still rely on cash transactions, and also on Singapore.
Go-Jek, from its humble beginnings in 2010 with 20 bikes for hailing in Jakarta, grew rapidly to a company with a fleet that now exceeds 400,000 drivers and includes motorcycles, cars and trucks. The company has been valued at $5 billion as of February 2018.
