Indonesia’s Bukalapak, which became the first tech unicorn in the country to be listed on IDX, has secured stakeholder approval to use the proceeds from its initial public offering (IPO) for business acquisitions, the company said in a statement on Thursday.
At the extraordinary general meeting (EGM) on Thursday, shareholders also approved the resignation of Lau Eng Boon from the Board of Commissioners.
DealStreetAsia had reported that Bukalapak was seeking approval for change in the utilisation of IPO proceeds, including the plan to reduce the allocation for the parent company to 33% from 66% previously.
Bukalapak will continue to set aside a total of 34% of the proceeds towards its subsidiaries, including 15% for PT Buka Mitra Indonesia. 15% for PT Buka Usaha Indonesia, 1% each for PT Buka Investasi Bersama, PT Buka Pengadaan Indonesia, Bukalapak Pte. Ltd, and PT Five Jack.
“Today’s EGM’s agenda reflects the positive dynamics and commitment of Bukalapak as a public company to continue to grow through various developments,” President Commissioner Bambang Brodjonegoro said. “We are optimistic that this development can continue to support Bukalapak’s goals towards sustainable growth and profitability.”
Bukalapak, Grab, and Emtek play
Bukalapak, ride-hailing platform Grab, and local media conglomerate Elang Mahkota Teknologi on Thursday rolled out the Smart City programme in Surakarta, Central Java.
The programme targets to digitise 10,000 small businesses, a move that will, in turn, get more small businesses onboard Bukalapak and Grab platforms.
After its launch in Kupang in October, Bukalapak, Grab, and Emtek will continue their Smart City tour in Gowa, Malang, and Pekanbaru until the second quarter of 2022.
The three players, who linked through their cross-holdings and investments in each other, aim to help the government digitise 30 million SMEs in small cities across the archipelago.
Getting more small businesses onboard its platform has proved to be beneficial for Bukalapak. The Mitra Bukalapak business that uses online channels to drive offline sales has been the company’s main growth engine.
According to the company’s earnings report for the period ending September 2021, Mitra Bukalapak contributed 43% of the company’s revenue. Revenue from Mitra Bukalapak increased 298% year-on-year to Rp496 billion during the January-September period.