Travel App Sets Sights on Financial Services

Indonesian online travel unicorn Traveloka is targeting Thailand and Vietnam for launching financial services ahead of a possible IPO.

Undaunted by Covid-19 related disruptions, Southeast Asia’s biggest online travel startup is eyeing moves into the financial services space as the company diversifies its offerings in a region ripe for disruption in the space.

The plan is to invest in fintech in a big way to allow more consumers to travel in the region,» Caesar Indra, Traveloka president said in an interview published Thursday.

The travel app, which previously branched out into lifestyle services such as food delivery, launched offerings in insurance and wealth management, and is currently developing buy-now-pay-later services in Vietnam and Thailand, where it recently launched a joint venture for fintech development with one of the country’s biggest banks.

The company, which counts 40 million monthly users, has seen a strong rebound in business, driven by domestic travel, Indra said.

Its business has surpassed pre-Covid levels in Vietnam, is nearly back to normal levels in Thailand, and is at half of pre-Covid levels in Indonesia, he said.

Traveloka is reportedly in discussions with special-purpose acquisition companies, or SPACs, for a U.S. listing.

Reuters quoted a source saying that Bridgetown Holdings, backed by Asian tycoon Richard Li, Provident Acquisition and Cova Acquisition are also contenders for the startup, which has a potential valuation of up to $5 billion.

Founded in 2012, Traveloka has raised more than $750 million to date from investors including Expedia, Singapore’s sovereign wealth fund GIC, East Ventures, as well as JD.com.