Amazon.com has said it plans to expand its e-commerce empire to Indonesia, with a $600 million investment for the first year.
It makes perfect business sense. Indonesia’s e-commerce space is only about $3.2 billion in sales, a tiny fraction of its $150 billion retail market. Indonesia is also the world’s 4th most populous country with 250 million population.
When Amazon moves in, the market shudders. Who are the movers and shakers in the Indonesian e-commerce space right now?
It turns out Amazon will be competing with start-ups backed by Alibaba Group and its buddy SoftBank.
Lazada, a direct-sales marketplace that spans the entire ASEAN, has 75% of its transactions coming from Indonesia. It was founded by Rocket Internet and was recently valued at $1.5 billion through an investment from Alibaba. It generated $1 billion GMV last year and made $275 million in sales.
Tokopedia is an Indonesian pure play. It is backed by SoftBank and Sequoia Capital.
Bukalapak is smaller than Tokopedia and is 49% owned by local media conglomerate PT Elang Mahkota Technologi, or Emtek Group.
Warehouse logistics companies can benefit if Indonesia’s e-commerce picks up. Mega Manunggal Property is one stock we can look at.
