Recently, there has been some debate regarding Telkomsel’s investment in Gojek, “now called GoTo,” according to a press release issued by Telkomsel here on Friday.
"It’s interesting to see this from an economic and investment perspective, as the global telecommunication sector is facing many challenges with voice and message revenue continuing to decline," Turino, who is also a member of Commission VI of the Indonesian House of Representatives, said.
Corporate action-wise, Telkomsel’s investment in Gojek is necessary to overcome the voice and message business and global telecom trend that has continued to decline, he added.
Telkom needs to find a new revenue stream that will support its sustainable business growth as a telecom company, he said.
The investment in Gojek will bring synergy more than business profit, he added.
The collaboration between the two giants could bring social and economic value to the more extensive base, he opined.
For instance, he explained, the two companies could collaborate on a synergy program where Gojek drivers or SMEs use Telkomsel as their provider and offer special packages.
"Telkomsel invested in Gojek at a lower price than today’s IPO (initial public offering). It signed that there’s a lot of potential growth in the future and unrealized gain or loss in the capital market is part of the business activities," he noted.
Such type of investment is executed by Telkom and other companies in the global market in order to stay competitive, he said.
"A sharing economy company like Gojek is not for a short-term but long-term business plan as it’s not only considering gain and loss but sustainable growth that will support the company fundamentally and continue to contribute to the Indonesian economy," he added.
Indonesia’s Internet economy has continued to boom to reach US$70 billion, and it is projected to grow to US$146 billion, according to the e-Conomy SEA (South East Asia) 2021 report by Google, Temasek, and Bain. The e-Conomy SEA is a research program launched by Google and Temasek in 2016.
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Reporter: Yuni Arisandy Sinaga
Editor: Rahmad Nasution
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