US e-commerce giant eBay plans to open office in Indonesia

According to information on eBay’s Linkedin link, the head will also be representative and spokesperson for the company.

eBay already has an existing joint venture company named PT MetraPlasa with a unit of state-owned telecommunication operator PT Telekomunikasi Indonesia Tbk (Telkom). In 2012, eBay and Telkom partnered to increase e-commerce business in Indonesia through Plasa.com, now known as Blanja.com.

One of the primary objectives of eBay’s new head will be to find local products that can be sold in the global market and to support Indonesian retail exporters.

Telkom expects the partnership with eBay will enable small and medium enterprises (SME) in Indonesia to tap the global market.

Blanja.com, a trading site that is in the same space as the likes of Tokopedia, Lazada, Blibli, has more than one million products listed of which 90 per cent would be locally made and sourced.

This site operates several categories: fashion & accessories, health & beauty, gadgets, toys, home, computer, movies, music, automotive, photography, sports equipment, travel and food.

The US-based eBay, set up in 1995, currently has branches in more than 30 countries. The site implements consumer to consumer (C2C) and business to consumer (B2C) trade. It can be accessed freely by buyers. However, the seller should pay to put their products on eBay.

EBay’s move comes at a time when the Indonesian government is planning to launch a roadmap for e-commerce business in February to boost foreign direct investment.

The government is warming up to the idea of allowing foreign ownership of up to 100 per cent for marketplace platforms with assets of over Rp10 billion.

At present, Indonesia does not allow foreign ownership in local (business to customer (B2C) retail e-commerce companies, but this restriction does not apply to online marketplaces that mediate between buyers and sellers (C2C).