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☆ SoftBank posts loss as Vision Fund in the red for fourth straight quarter
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-07 | by ( Kiyoshi Takenaka | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

TOKYO, Feb 7 (Reuters) - SoftBank Group Corp (9984.T) on Tuesday booked a net loss for October-December, as its giant Vision Fund investment unit remained in the red for a fourth straight quarter while a global tech sell-off battered valuations of its portfolio companies. The Vision Fund, which upended the world of technology with its big bets on startups, reported an investment loss of 730.36 billion yen ($5.52 billion) in the latest quarter. At SoftBank itself, the net loss totalled 783.42 billion yen, compared with a 29.05 billion yen profit a year earlier. SoftBank said the Vision Fund unit had significantly curtailed new investments and was continuing to sell some older ones as part of "prudent defensive financial management" amid the challenging market environment. The bulk of the loss at the Vision Fund unit came from a steep decline in the valuation of investments in unlisted companies.

☆ Indonesia eyes $11 bln in capital market fundraising this year
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-02 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

JAKARTA, Jan 2 (Reuters) - Indonesia is targeting 170 trillion rupiah ($10.92 billion) in capital market fundraising for this year, including from initial public offerings and debt instruments, its financial regulator said on Monday, well below the amount raised in 2022. About 260 trillion rupiah was raised through the capital market last year, including the IPO of top tech firm PT GoTo Gojek Tokopedia (GOTO.JK), which raised $1.1 billion in April. Inarno Djajadi, head of capital market supervision at the Financial Services Authority, said there were 84 offerings in the pipeline with 81.41 trillion rupiah ($5.23 billion) in total estimated value. About 54.5 trillion rupiah of that would be from 58 potential IPOs. Among firms expected to go public in 2023 are two units of state energy firm Pertamina, Pertamina Geothermal Energy and Pertamina Hulu Energi.

☆ UBS expects this global tech stock to see a 60% upside despite headwinds and reopening challenges
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-14 | by ( Sheila Chiang | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

UBS is bullish on GoTo Group , and changed its 12-month rating for Indonesian e-commerce and ride-hailing giant from "sell" to "buy." GoTo shares surged as much as 33% during Tuesday trading after the Swiss investment bank did a double upgrade of the stock. Despite subsidy reductions and tough macro conditions, GoTo has been growing quarter-on-quarter in key segments, UBS said in its report. UBS Still, UBS lowered its 12-month price target for GoTo by 33% to 160 rupiah, from a previous target of 240 rupiah. "The expiry of lock-up and steady progress towards profitability in end-2023 should help the stock re-rate, in our view," said the UBS report.

☆ Tech layoffs in Southeast Asia mount as unprofitable startups seek to extend their runways
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-08 | by ( Sheila Chiang | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +4 min

Lauryn Ishak | Bloomberg | Getty ImagesMore tech startups in Southeast Asia laid off workers this year, as macro headwinds widened losses and venture capitalists pushed startups to extend their runways. Jia Jih Chai RainforestThey join Sea Group and other companies in the region in downsizing headcount. Sea Group, according to local media, laid off more than 7,000 employees over the past six months. Tech startups in Southeast Asia are still largely unprofitable, with names like Sea Group and Grab amassing billions of losses annually. Existing investors in the company are also actively advising founders to prepare for winter, Jussi Salovaara, Antler's co-founder and managing partner for Asia, told CNBC.

☆ Indonesia's GoTo has lost almost 70% of its valuation since its April IPO
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-05 | by ( Sheila Chiang | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +1 min

Indonesia's GoTo Group has lost 68.5% of its initial value of 400 trillion rupiah ($28 billion) since its initial public offering in April. While the stock has ticked lower most of the year, GoTo shares sold off after pre-IPO shareholders opted out of a secondary offering following the lock-up expiration on Nov. 30. GoTo Group is the merged entity between Indonesia's two largest tech companies: ride-hailing giant Gojek and e-commerce marketplace Tokopedia. On Wednesday, the last day of the lock-up, GoTo said those pre-IPO shareholders decided to not proceed with the secondary offering. It was last seen trading near 123 rupiah, giving the company a valuation of about 126 trillion rupiah.

☆ Indonesia's GoTo says some pre-IPO shareholders not taking up secondary offering
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-01 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

JAKARTA, Dec 1 (Reuters) - Indonesian biggest tech firm PT GoTo Gojek Tokopedia (GOTO.JK) said on Wednesday evening that some of its pre-IPO shareholders had decided not to take up a secondary offering of shares at this time. The shareholders were those who considered the proposed transaction, GoTo said in a statement without naming them. Shares of GoTo closed down 6.79% on Wednesday to 151 rupiah a piece prior to the announcement. The announcement came as the eight-month lock-up period for pre-IPO shareholders expired on Wednesday. GoTo, which raised $1.1 billion in an IPO last April, said in October that the purpose for a coordinated secondary offering of shares was to "facilitate an orderly sale through the negotiated market."

☆ ComfortDelGro, Gojek partner to tackle driver shortage as ride demand surges in Singapore
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-29 | by ( Sheila Chiang | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +1 min

Singapore's largest taxi operator ComfortDelGro and ride-hailing app Gojek said they would work together to tackle issues in the transportation industry, including a shortage of private-hire drivers. As part of a two-year collaboration, the companies said Monday they will explore letting users book ComfortDelGro's taxis via the Gojek app. Gojek-competitor Grab already offers SMRT Taxis as the standard taxi option in Singapore. Private-hire and taxi companies have been trying to attract more drivers in Singapore to meet passenger demand, which surged after the city-state lifted pandemic restrictions. Many drivers left the industry during the pandemic as Covid measures hurt demand and increasing costs cut into margins.

☆ Singapore's gig workers to get work injury, pension coverage
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-24 | by ( Chen Lin | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

SINGAPORE, Nov 24 (Reuters) - Singapore will extend work injury insurance and pension coverage to food delivery and ride-hailing workers under proposed legislative changes that it aims to implement as early as late 2024, the Manpower Ministry said. The new rules will affect about 73,000 workers who deliver food or drive passengers for companies such as Grab (GRAB.O) , Gojek (GOTO.JK), Deliveroo (ROO.L) and Delivery Hero's (DHER.DE) Foodpanda. Workers would gain coverage under the national pension system, which collects contributions from both workers and companies, and receive work injury insurance covering medical expenses, income loss, and lump sum compensation for permanent disability or death. Gig workers would not, however, be considered full-time employees entitled to paid leave and other benefits. Reporting by Chen Lin in Singapore; Editing by Xinghui Kok and Edmund KlamannOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Grab, Gojek are 'supportive' of Singapore's move to expand job protection for gig workers
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-24 | by ( Sheila Chiang | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +1 min

Southeast Asian tech giants Grab and Gojek said they are "supportive" of recommendations made by an advisory committee to expand gig worker protection in Singapore starting in 2024. In Singapore, platform or gig workers, often ride-hailing or food delivery drivers, have thus far been considered self-employed. As a result, they do not receive employer contributions to the Central Provident Fund, the national pension savings scheme. As of 2020, the city-state's Ministry of Manpower estimated that such workers made up about 3% of the resident workforce, or 79,000 people. Under the CPF measure, both platform workers and platform companies such as Grab, Gojek, Foodpanda and Deliveroo will need to make contributions at the same rate as employees and employers.

☆ Shares of Indonesia's GoTo fall 6% as nine-month loss swells
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-22 | by ( Sheila Chiang | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

Indonesia's GoTo Group reported its nine-month accumulated losses surged from a year ago, even as quarterly losses shrank as the company cut costs. GoTo accumulated a loss of 20.32 trillion rupiah ($1.29 billion) between January and September, far more than the 11.58 trillion rupiah loss reported a year ago. For the third quarter, GoTo reported an adjusted EBITDA loss of 3.7 trillion rupiah (about $235 million), about 11% smaller than the 4.2 trillion rupiah adjusted EBITDA loss posted a year ago. That's also 10% narrower than the 4.1 trillion rupiah EBITDA loss reported for the second quarter and marks the third consecutive quarter of shrinking losses. GoTo Group is the result of a merger between two of Indonesia's largest tech companies — ride-hailing, food delivery and payments giant Gojek and e-commerce marketplace Tokopedia.

☆ Indonesia GoTo's Jan-Sept 2022 net loss at $1.3 bln, despite improving Q3 results
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-21 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

JAKARTA, Nov 21 (Reuters) - Indonesian tech firm PT GoTo Gojek Tokopedia Tbk (GOTO.JK) reported a net loss of 20.32 trillion rupiah ($1.29 billion) between January and September 2022, according to financial statements published on Monday, amid a sell-off in tech stocks. Losses widened from the same period last year, when the firm reported a 11.57 trillion rupiah net loss, according to the statements. GoTo said in a press statement following the result that it saw financial improvements in the April-June 2022 period and expected to see more over the coming quarters. In Q3 2022 alone, GoTo's gross revenue was up 30% from the same period last year to 5.9 trillion rupiah and its adjusted EBITDA loss narrowed by 11% year-on-year to 3.7 trillion rupiah. Shares of GoTo closed at 210 rupiah per share on Monday, down 5.41% in intra-day trade.

☆ Indonesia’s GoTo to cut 1,300 jobs — or about 12% of its headcount
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-18 | by ( Sheila Chiang | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +1 min

A GoTo logo seen displayed on a smartphone screen and in the background. Indonesian tech giant GoTo Group announced Friday that it is laying off 1,300 people, or around 12% of its total headcount. GoTo is the merged entity of ride-hailing company Gojek and online marketplace Tokopedia. The company announced Friday that "a reduction in staffing levels that will sadly affect 1,300 people or approximately 12% of employees, across the GoTo group." Previous reports by local and foreign media said that GoTo, which went public on the Indonesia Stock Exchange in April 2022, was planning to cut 10% of its total workforce amid economic headwinds.

☆ Indonesia's GoTo to cut 1,300 jobs to step up cost cutting
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-18 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

GoTo said it has achieved around 800 billion rupiah ($51 million) in cost savings in the first half of this year through efficiency measures in technology, marketing and outsourcing. GoTo, which offers ride-hailing and financial services, went public in April with a $1.1 billion stock sale. Its shares are trading 44% below its initial public offering price, as investor sentiment on the tech sector sours amid soaring inflation and interest rates. Shares in GoTo rose 2.8% on Friday after announcing the job cuts. In recent months, Southeast Asia's largest-ecommerce firm Shopee cut jobs in various countries and shut some overseas operations as parent Sea (SE.N) struggle with losses.

☆ Indonesian digital lender Neo Commerce targets full-year profit in 2023
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-04 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Tjandra also pledged that its high deposit rate of up to 8% per year would not be a one-off. BNC's net interest margin (NIM), an indicator of profitability and as of September at 12.7%, was sufficient even with high deposit rates, he said. Sea Group's digital bank SeaBank Indonesia offers a deposit rate of 7%, while Bank Jago offered a 7% rate for its saving products during a promotional period in August. BNC is targeting 10-11 trillion rupiah loan disbursement this year and up to 40% growth in 2023, Tjandra said. But the lender is still expected to book a full-year loss of around 500-600 billion rupiah in December, Tjandra said.

☆ Indonesia's GoTo considering secondary offering of shares
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-24 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

JAKARTA, Oct 24 (Reuters) - Indonesia's biggest tech firm PT GoTo Gojek Tokopedia Tbk (GOTO.JK) is exploring a coordinated secondary offering of shares held by pre-IPO shareholders after a lock-up period ends late next month, the company said on Monday. It said it would not issue or sell new shares, so there would be no dilution of GoTo's shares. The remaining shares are held by some of GoTo's executives and shareholders, each with ownership of less than 5%. Shares of GoTo closed at 190 each on Monday, a drop of 5%. GoTo debuted on April this year, raising $1.1 billion in an IPO by selling around 4% of its shares at 338 rupiah each.

Helen Wong, Group CEO of OCBC Bank poses for a portrait during an interview with Reuters in Singapore October 10, 2022. And while OCBC earned nearly half of its operating profit from Singapore, Greater China was the next-largest contributor, followed by Malaysia. She added that OCBC benefited from having both a brick-and-mortar and a strong digital footprint. This has increased attention on OCBC, which has the strongest capital position among Singapore banks. Sanford Bernstein analysts said in a report in June that OCBC had S$4.8 billion that could be used for acquisitions without the need to raise capital.

☆ This 33-year-old left the U.S. for Bali and lives a ‘life of luxury’ on $2,233 a month—how he spends his money
▼ + stars: | 2022-02-12 | by ( Morgan Smith | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +7 min

In 2016, he finished his double master's degree in epidemiology and behavioral science at San Diego State University. Once his visa expired, he traveled to Mexico for four months, then went back to San Diego. 'I'm living a life of luxury'Since moving to Bali, Gbenro has been able to spend more on travel, dining and other hobbies as well as boost his savings. "I'm never worried about money anymore because Bali has a much lower cost of living than the U.S.," he says. For his first nine months in Bali, Gbenro used a tourist visa.

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