Forecasting Unicorn IPO and Its Effects on Consumers
Translator
Ricky Mohammad Nugraha
Editor
Petir Garda Bhwana
Kamis, 24 Juni 2021 08:09 WIB
TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - The chairperson of Indonesian Digital Empowering Community (IDEC) M. Tesar Sandikapura on Wednesday provided his views about the plans from Indonesian unicorns entering the capital market, which he believes will directly affect consumer’s convenience.
Citing Bisnis.com, he argues that unicorns Bukalapak and GoTo (GoJek and Tokopedia) will likely race to generate cash flow through initial public offering (IPO) and mergers as he believes venture capital injections will start to fade out, a business model that the unicorns had relied on.
“However, IPO might be a challenge as their bookeepings are yet healthy enough as in the past they would provide consumers’ convenience by ‘burning money’ and will almost certainly see unicorns in the capital market veering away from pampering consumers to focus on revenue and improve financially,” he said on June 23.
A plethora of risks and challenges, he said, will face the unicorns in venturing the future of their business as the public are already familiar with the companies’ valuation and that entering the market will make the companies prioritize profit.
Sandikapura believes Bukalapak must take the IPO route first before the GoTo group as it would be more profitable for them as public interest in purchasing the shares of tech companies remains high and pioneer the business projection for other unicorns.
However, a contrasting opinion came from the secretary general of the Indonesian Venture Capital and Startup Association (Amvesindo) Eddi Danusaputro who believes the IPO route will not make unicorns suddenly ditch consumer’s convenience.
He acknowledges that companies going public generally focus on profitability and force them to increase the prices of their products or services, however, Danusaputro believes the issue would not be that simple.
Speaking to Bisnis.com, he argues tech companies offer consumers’ convenience “not only in affordability or low prices but there are also aspects such as user experience, satisfaction, optional features, and more. This is where the art lies, it must be balanced.”
Read: Kominfo Optimistic to See 3 More Unicorns Despite Pandemic
BISNIS
