JAKARTA – Coordinating Minister for Maritime Affairs Luhut Binsar Pandjaitan stated that SoftBank, a Japanese technology company, is ready to invest in a number of new startups in Indonesia. One of them is a startup in the field of fisheries, Aruna.
According to Luhut, he had discussed it with SoftBank CEO Masayoshi Son when they met some time ago. At that time, said Luhut, he asked companies from the country of Sakura not only to inject funds into large companies such as Grab and Tokopedia but also to the new ones.
“I told them “don’t stick to just Grab, give it (funds) to local companies too. Finally, it seems like Aruna can also get it. Reportedly, Softbank has sent some people to Aruna,” he said as quoted by Tempo.co.
Aruna, he said, is a technology company that aims to cut the fish trade chain which is considered too long.
Luhut is optimistic that the company can become the target for potential investors, which enables them to obtain the title of “unicorn”.
Previously, Luhut said SoftBank had the opportunity to increase its investment in Indonesia to reach US$ 10 billion, or around Rp 140 trillion, assuming an exchange rate of Rp 14,000 per US dollar.
Source: IDN Financials | 14 August 2019