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Tag: Astra International

  • Astra Sets Up Joint Venture With Hong Kong’s WeLab to Provide Loans to Indonesians

    Astra Sets Up Joint Venture With Hong Kong’s WeLab to Provide Loans to Indonesians

    Diversified Indonesian conglomerate Astra International has established a joint venture with Hong Kong-based technology company WeLab to provide financial products and loans to unbanked people, the company announced on Thursday (06/09).

    “We hope to expand our digital portfolio, while we also aim to further encourage financial inclusion in Indonesia. We continue to seek partners with the industry’s leading companies. We believe WeLab is at the forefront of fintech innovation.

    Through this partnership, we want to offer innovative solutions to provide benefits to consumers throughout Indonesia,” Astra International director Suparno Djasmin said in a statement.

    Astra subsidiary Sedaya Multi Investama and WeLab established a joint venture, Astra WeLab Digital Arta (AWDA), to give unbanked people access to loans.

    The joint venture, which uses big data analysis to better assess customers’ financial profiles, will offer loan products for retail consumers that can be accessed by smartphone, while also providing financial solutions to corporate customers.

    AWDA will launch its mobile application, Maucash, in the third quarter of this year to allow customers to apply for loans anytime and anywhere.

    The new entity sees massive potential in Indonesia’s fintech industry and seeks to capture the untapped potential.

    Supported by rapid growth in the adoption of smartphones, Indonesia recorded a 7.9 percent year-on-year increase in the number of internet users to 143.26 million last year, according to the Indonesian Internet Service Providers Association (APJII).

    An APJII survey showed that about 44.16 percent of respondents use smartphones to access the internet, while 30.28 percent do so with both computers and mobile phones and the remainder use computers only.

    “We believe our advanced technology, combined with Astra’s operational experience in the Indonesian market, can provide new experiences for consumers in Indonesia,” said Simon Loong, WeLab founder and chief executive.

    WeLab, founded in 2013, operates Woalaidai, one of the largest mobile credit delivery platforms in China. It also operates WeLend, an online loan platform in Hong Kong.

    The company also partners with traditional financial institutions that utilize WeLab technology to offer fintech-based solutions to their customers.

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  • Ride-Hailing Firm Go-Jek to Expand Abroad

    Ride-Hailing Firm Go-Jek to Expand Abroad

    Indonesian ride-hailing and online payment firm Go-Jek on Thursday said it would enter Vietnam, Thailand, Singapore and the Philippines in the next few months, investing $500 million in its international push.

    The move will start with ride-hailing services before expanding to other sectors, Go-Jek said in a statement.

    “People in Vietnam, Thailand, Singapore and the Philippines don’t feel that they’re getting enough [choice] when it comes to ride-hailing,” chief executive Nadiem Makarim said in the statement.

    The announcement comes after Uber Technologies Inc sold its Southeast Asian operations to local competitor Grab.

    Go-Jek said it was working with regulators and other stakeholders across the region to prepare for the new operations.

    The expansion follows Go-Jek’s latest round of fundraising, which brought investment from companies including Astra International, JD.COM, Tencent and Temasek.

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  • Tough battle brews in Indonesian eCommerce

    Tough battle brews in Indonesian eCommerce

    Three Indonesian eCommerce platforms are about to be launched – by Astra Graphia, CT Corp and a joint venture formed by the Salim and Lotte Groups.

    This comes after forays into eCommerce in the past 12 months by such Indonesian conglomerates Lippo Group (MatahariMall and Venturra Capital), Sinar Mas Group (SMDV) MNC Group (BrandOutlet) and MAP Group (eMall), reports E27, which says Indonesia’s eCommerce market is predicted to grow to US$130 billion by 2020.

    Salim Group has signed an agreement with South Korea’s retail giant Lotte Group to form a joint venture for eCommerce business. Launching next year, it is the second such collaboration followingElevenia.
    Lotte Group’s portfolio in Indonesia includes a department store, 41 retail stores and 31 fast-food franchise outlets. Salim Group owns businesses in the F&B, infrastructure, logistics, telco, media and real estate sectors. It also has 11,000 Indomaret minimart outlets.
    “We expect ourselves to champion the market as soon as we walk into it, says CT Corp founder Chairul Tanjung, who has yet to reveal a launch date for the group’s online venture.

    CT Corp owns hypermarket chain Carrefour, the department store chain Metro, hotels and theme parks managed by TransStudio, media companies Detik and TransTV, and fashion and F&B outlets.

    Its new eCommerce platform will be a separate business entity from the group’s TransRetail subsidiary, which covers its retail businesses.
    Meanwhile, a subsidiary of Astra International specialising in office equipment and services, Astra Graphia has spent about IDR50 billion (US$3.6 million) on developing its Axiqoe platform.
    “The online shop will display thousands of items, initially for business-to-business,” says Astra Graphia’s chief of finance Panji Nurfirman.

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