Traveloka office in Jakarta. (Image via Tech in Asia)

Claimed as Singapore’s Start-up, Traveloka: We Love Indonesia

Investment Coordinating Board (BKPM) head Thomas Lembong was under fire after making a statement that says Indonesia’s four tech unicorns, including Traveloka, owned by a Singapore-based holding company.

During a press conference on Tuesday (7/30), Lembong said he was surprised knowing that there were zero unicorns in Indonesia, while Singapore had four unicorns which were Gojek, Bukalapak, Tokopedia, and Traveloka. He added all funding was received in the form of direct payments made by the holding company in Singapore to vendors or suppliers in Indonesia.

His statement was referring to research released by American tech giant Google and Singaporean holding company Temasek in 2016, titled E-conomy SEA: Unlocking the $200 Billion Digital Opportunity in Southeast Asia—which definitely raised more than a few eyebrows in the industry.

Traveloka, as one of Indonesia’s start-ups cited by Lembong, responded immediately to his statement. Through Traveloka’s Public Relations Director, Sufintri Rahayu, confirmed that Traveloka is an Indonesian company based in Jakarta, at Wisma 77 Slipi, and 88% of the total workers are employed in Indonesia.

She also said that all funding is channeled to the development of Traveloka company (PT Trinusa Travelindo) and absorbed throughout their operations in ‘beloved Indonesia’.

However, Lembong corrected himself and apologize on his Twitter account soon after his controversial statement had made three of the unicorns he stated reacted and went on headlines.

Source: https://www.cnbcindonesia.com/tech/20190731214923-37-88996/diklaim-milik-singapura-traveloka-kami-cinta-indonesia