Bukalapak reportedly prices IPO at top end

The e-commerce firm focuses on micro, small and medium-sized enterprises, as it competes with bigger rivals in Indonesia

Indonesian e-commerce firm Bukalapak has raised $1.5 billion in its initial public offering (IPO), the country's largest issue, after pricing it at the top of an indicated price range, three sources familiar with the matter said on Wednesday.

The initial public offering by Indonesia's fourth-biggest e-commerce company comes at a time when the country’s $40 billion e-commerce market is benefiting from a strong demand as people shift to online shopping amid the Covid crisis. It is backed by Singapore sovereign investor GIC and tech giant Microsoft among others.

Two of the sources said order books for the IPO, the first by an Indonesian tech unicorn, were multiple times covered, with one saying the issue received more than $6 billion of demand.

The sources asked not to be identified as they were not authorised to publicly talk about the matter.

Until a few months ago, the e-commerce firm was looking to raise just $300 million. That grew to $800 million and then to $1.5 billion last week as investors clamoured for a piece of the company, as reported by Reuters previously.

Bukalapak has priced its initial public offering at the top of its 750 rupiah ($0.052) and 850 ($0.058) rupiah apiece indicated price, with the company valued at nearly $6 billion, the sources said. Bukalapak is set to make its market debut next month.

The e-commerce firm focuses on micro, small and medium-sized enterprises, as it competes with bigger rivals Tokopedia, Sea Ltd's Shopee and Alibaba's Lazada, in Southeast Asia's largest economy.

Bank of America (BoA) and Union Bank of Switzerland (UBS) are the joint global coordinators and bookrunners with Mandiri.