E-commerce player Bhinneka aims for IPO in 2018
By Ervina Anggraini February 26, 2016
- 20% of Bhinneka stock will be opened up for public subscription
- Plans to add another investor in 2016, prefers local player
JAKARTA-based e-commerce company PT Bhinneka Mentari Dimensi (Bhinneka) plans to launch its initial public offering (IPO) on the Indonesia Stock Exchange in 2018.
This comes after a US$22-million investment from Indonesian venture capital firm Ideosource last November. Those funds were used to boost its team and enhance its infrastructure and technology, as well as working capital.
“We are still estimating how much money we’re looking for from the IPO,” Bhinneka chief executive officer Hendrik Tio told Digital News Asia (DNA) in Jakarta.
“Aside from that, we expect 20% of our stock to be open for public [subscription],” he said, adding that Ideosource currently holds about 30% of Bhinneka.
Hendrik said the team is now in the midst of making sure the financial and legal requirements are met for a public listing.
Bhinneka was established in in 1993 as a printing services company, then in 1999 launched its e-commerce website specialising in what it calls 3C: Communications, computers, and consumer electronics.
Hendrik claimed the company’s total revenue has been growing since its e-commerce launch in 1999, and as at end-2015, had hit double digits, with a 90% improvement year-on-year.
“This year we will be targeting our revenue growth to hit triple digits or above 100%,” he told the media at the company’s 23rd anniversary celebration in Jakarta on Feb 23.
“Sure, the market is growing. But we also added more categories besides our 3C line-up,” he said, adding that Bhinneka is targeting US$149 million (Rp2 trillion) in revenue.
Eyeing new investor
Bhinneka is also looking to get one more investor on board this year, according to Hendrik (pic), for extra funds to expand its team.
“We have been in discussion with some foreign and local investors,” he said, declining to identify them.
Hendrik said the company would prefer a local investor, even though there are several foreign investors who have shown an interest.
“We were born and want to grow as a local company, so we decided to look for another local investor or venture firm,” he said.
Bhinneka also plans to spend US$7.5 million (Rp100 billion) on advertising this year.
“We will make some media buys which can have a good impact. It would show that we are ready to compete with other players,” he added.
Expanding its scope
Hendrik said Bhinneka will focus more on its online marketplace and business-to-business (B2B) business this year.
Thus far, its focus has been on the business-to-consumer (B2C) segment.
“We are sure the marketplace will contribute to at least 50% of the company’s revenue,” he added.
The B2B move is to also more fully leverage on e-commerce – currently, online transactions make up only 40% of the total, and Hendrik believes there is space to grow.
Hendrik is also confident that the marketplace will not ‘cannibalise’ the company’s consumer business, saying that it would give customers more choice and allow them to better compare products.
The marketplace now has 2,000 merchants on board, and is aiming to recruit 3,500 more.
Bhinneka chief business officer Edward Ismawan Chamdani (pic) claimed it has already served 20,000 corporate customers since it launched its B2B platform last year.
“The corporate customer segment has great potential,” he said.
To meet their needs, Bhinneka plans to open representative branches in 18 more cities in Indonesia. It now has branches in 17 cities and also owns a 7,000 sq metre warehouse in Sunter, North Jakarta.
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