Indonesia sees first local listing by e-commerce start-up

The company sold 150 million shares – or 23% of its total issued shares – for IDR300 apiece, according to a filing. The stock gained 50% on its trading debut, closing at IDR450 on October 5. "The success of this IPO is a breath of fresh air for start-ups in Indonesia,” Kioson CEO Jasain Halim said in a blog post on the company website.

AVCJ Research’s records show that Mitra Komunikasi Nusantara, which is best known for distributing pre-paid top-up cards for mobile phones, paid $400,000 for a 4.94% stake in Kioson in June. The majority shareholder, Artav Mobile Indonesia, has a similar business. Halim told Reuters that Kioson had received offers from VC investors but opted for an IPO because the valuation was more attractive.  

Founded in 2015, the company operates an app through which kiosk owners act as conduits for consumers in remote areas, placing orders online on behalf of customers and then receiving deliveries. As of April, Kioson had more than 15,000 kiosk partners in 384 locations. It wants to grow this network by 400% by the end of 2017.

The system is used for online shopping, bill payments, buying mobile phone credit, and financial services. Part of the proceeds from the offering will go towards the acquisition of Narindo Communications Solutions, an online payments business.

Kioson recorded net sales of IDR24.6 billion in 2016, up from IDR2 billion the previous year. Over the same period, its net loss widened from IDR2.4 billion to IDR11.3 billion.

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• Topics
• Southeast Asia
• IPO
• Technology
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• Indonesia
• TMT