TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - The vice president of corporate communications of Go-Jek Indonesia, Michael Reza Say, said his company would expand to Singapore this year, but balked at detaling the plans. “This year for sure, but we cannot reveal more details," he said in Senayan, Friday, July 6.

Earlier, Go-Jek CEO-cum-founder Nadiem Makarim said it had launched two locally-established companies in Vietnam and Thailand. He added this step was the first wave of the company's international expansion into Southeast Asian countries.

Nadiem said that Go-Viet, a brand introduced in Vietnam, will enter the beta testing phase in July, which will involve a number of drivers and consumers, before launching fully in the coming months. GET, a brand introduced in Thailand, will be launched shortly afterwards, as the consultations are currently underway with various local stakeholders.

Read: Go-Jek Expands to SEA Countries following Uber Exit

The international expansion was undertaken with months of planning after Go-Jek acquired prestigious capital investors, such as Astra International, Warburg Pincus, KKR, Meituan, Tencent, Google, and Temasek.

Of the investment, US$500 million, said Nadiem, was allocated for international expansion, in line with the company's strategy of expanding its wings in Southeast Asia. Go-Jek also plans to launch its operations in Singapore and the Philippines. "Our strategy is to combine world-class technology that has been developed," he said.

According to Nadiem, the two companies, at an early stage, will present the ride-hailing and logistics services, followed by food and electronic payment messaging services.

CHITRA PARAMAESTI