Kredivo to Consider SPAC; Expecting "Go-Public" Testimony from Indonesian Tech Giants

The fintech paylater company, Kredivo, is reportedly considering an option to go public on the New York stock exchange through SPAC. The company plans to partner with Victory Park Capital's unit, an investment company that also provided debt funding facilities to Kredivo worth $100 million in November 2020.

This news was first reported by DealStreetAsia. As we continue to follow up, Kredivo executives were reluctant to comment on the rumors.

From the existing funding rounds, Kredivo's current estimated valuation has reached $500 million. The ranks of investors include Singtel Innov8, Telkomsel Mitra Inovasi, MDI Ventures, Cathay Innovation, DST Partners, and Kejora Intervest.

Meanwhile, the value of the blank check company to be partnered with is estimated at $255 million.

Go-public plans

Recently, Tiket.com's plan to go-public resurfaced. The company, which has now valued more than $1 billion, is reportedly considering SPAC as its vehicle to go-public on the stock exchange. Rumor has it that they will collaborate with a blank check company COVA Acquisition Corp. (COVA), forming a unity valued at more than $2 billion.

In addition, as quoted by Kumparan, GoTo's CEO, Andre Soelistyo said the Gojek-Tokopedia joint venture also plans to go-public on the stock exchange before the end of 2021.

In a general note, other unicorns, including Traveloka and Bukalapak have reportedly begun exploring the option of going public with SPAC.

The SPAC popularity arises as the conventional IPO process is considered more complicated, expensive, and time-consuming for technology startups. In the United States, 2020 is a significant momentum for go-public through blank check scheme. There are more than 200 SPACs raising an estimated $799 billion.

However, there has been a decline in SPAC prices and interest in institutional investors to enter the PIPE; it is possible for startups to rethink about going public through this mechanism.

Withersworldwide's partner, Joel Shen argues, SPAC's resurgence can be attributed to low interest rates, abundant liquidity in the market due to the stimulus of the US central bank system, and an increase in the number of acquisition targets, especially in technology.

Expecting testimony

The plan remains, even the companies above avoid to openly discuss or admit about the SPAC. Some have already given the signal to immediately conduct an IPO.

If these market-leading startups can succeed with SPAC, it will be both a measure and a good benchmark for the ecosystem. One of them is related to the company's acceptance on foreign exchanges, even though its business is focused on local [regional] markets.

In his  analysis, Gabriel Li as an expert from Withers KhattarWong Singapore said that the [global] public market has currently showing interest to invest in Southeast Asian technology startups. The success of Sea Group in bringing e-commerce, video games and payments businesses is said to be one of the early triggers. Investments in Southeast Asian or Indonesian companies are seen to be complementary for most investors.

Investors in the capital market, the government, and even the general public are now waiting for concrete steps of the tech-giants to go-public on the stock exchange. It is expected with careful steps, local startups can really give their best performance, therefore, it turns out to be extraordinary examples for innovators following in the same direction.

Indonesian capital market

All the news about unicorns planning to go-public, the Indonesia Stock Exchange (IDX) did not sit still. Various adjustments were made as "inducements" to local technology companies to consider domestic IPOs.

IDX's Development Director, Hasan Fawzi said some adjustment points compiled through conversations with industry players. It is related to the listing option on the main board, expand the classification of sub-sectors, and to the rights of the founder to do a dual class share.

Dual listing is predicted to be an option for startups, as it is undeniable that investors from the United States stock exchange are connecting companies to embrace a wider circle of investors. On the other hand, an IPO on a local stock exchange will spice up the Indonesian market, while being a manifestation of nationalism.

IDX' Commissioner, Pandu Sjahrir's also said, as quoted by Tempo, currently three unicorns have registered to the local stock exchange, although no further details have been identified.

–Original article is in Indonesian, translated by Kristin SiagianGambar Header: Depositphotos.com