SoftBank chief seeks more investment in Indonesia

Bloomberg

SoftBank Group Corp will invest $2 billion in Indonesia through ride-hailing giant Grab over the next five years and plans to explore investment opportunities in the country’s electric battery and renewable energy sectors.
The Japanese conglomerate, which announced plans last week to raise a total of $108 billion for its second Vision Fund, will also increase its investment in e-commerce startup PT Tokopedia, SoftBank founder Masayoshi Son told reporters in Jakarta after his meeting with President Joko Widodo.
“We will invest $2 billion through Grab,” Son told reporters. A SoftBank spokeswoman said this is an investment that’s already been made in the ride-hailing company and not a fresh capital.
“Tokopedia is also very, very important so we’ll increase our investment into Tokopedia and help it grow,” Son said.
Son is betting big that hitching rides via an app and autonomous vehicles are the future of transportation.
In addition to Uber Technologies Inc, SoftBank has poured billions of dollars into Grab, including $1.46 billion just a few months ago, as well as Indonesian online marketplace Tokopedia.
The serial investor may make $3 billion into Indonesian companies over the next three years, Coordinating Minister for Maritime Affairs Luhut Pandjaitan said.
Separately, Singapore-based Grab said in a statement it will invest capital it’s getting from SoftBank in Indonesia over
the next five years to set up a second headquarters in the country and to create a next-generation transportation network based on electric vehicles.
“We are definitely interested in electric vehicles, the batteries and the charging system,” Son said. “We will invest in the ecosystem — We would like to get the blue sky back to Jakarta.”
Son said his strategy is to help create more Indonesian unicorns, or private companies with $1 billion valuation or more.
One of the areas Grab is targeting is healthcare. Grab plans to launch online healthcare service in Indonesia in the next three months, aiming to increase access to doctors and medical services for all Indonesians, the company said in the statement.