Tuesday, March, 19, 2024 07:34:32

The Indonesian unicorn sees the Philippines as a potential market, as it is the second most populous country in Southeast Asia

Reports confirm that the Philippines’ transport regulator has denied the appeal of Indonesian ride-hailing giant Go-Jek to enter into the local ride-hailing market. The Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board (LTFRB) has denied the petition of Velox Technology Inc. for failing the criteria of citizenship requirement.

In August, Go-Jek had filed an application for a licence to operate in Manila through its subsidiary Velox Technology in Philippines. Apparently, it was rejected in January, as the firm did not meet the criteria of having at least 60% Filipino ownership, since ride-hailing was added to a list of industries where foreign ownership is only limited to 40%.

Sources informed that Go-Jek is dissatisfied with the decision of LTFRB to deny its reconsideration appeal and with it, the offer to address urgent requirement of further transportation options for Filipino commuters. The company would now be looking to explore other options, sources mentioned.

Reportedly, commuters in Thailand, Singapore, Indonesia, and Vietnam can get advantage from Go-Jek’s technology, but due to the authority’s unfavourable decision, it seems that the commuters and drivers will have to wait a little longer.

The Indonesian unicorn sees the Philippines as a potential market, as it is the second most populous country in South-East Asia. In January, it acquired a major share in mobile payment service named coins.ph which is worth of $72 million, sources added.

For the uninitiated, Go-Jek is a technology startup headquartered in Jakarta, Indonesia that works in logistics and ride-hailing segments. It is the very first unicorn company of Indonesia and in 2017, became the only company in Southeast Asia to be included in Fortune’s 50 companies which changed the world.

According to the sources, Go-Jek was included in the list of Top 10 most powerful brands in Indonesia as well as in Top 3 most powerful Logistics or Transportation brands. It was established by Nadiem Makarim, an Indonesian who holds a degree from Harvard Business School and Brown university.