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TRAVELOKA, the largest online travel startup in Southeast Asia, plans to launch financial services in Thailand and Vietnam by considering an IPO in the United States. The 9-year-old startup, which counts Expedia and JD.com China among its supporters, is seeing a strong rebound in their business after the COVID-19 pandemic hit demand.
According to Traveloka President Caesar Indra, said Traveloka business in Vietnam has surpassed pre-COVID-19 levels, almost returned to normal levels in Thailand, and half of pre-COVID-19 levels in Indonesia.
“The worst has happened, and now we are well prepared for 2021. Domestic travel is driving recovery. The plan is to invest heavily in fintech to enable more consumers to travel in the region,” Indra said, adding that the travel business was back. profitable by the end of 2020.
He explained that Traveloka, which has 40 million monthly active users, is developing a “buy now, pay later” service for the Thai and Vietnamese markets.
“We recently formed a joint venture with one of the largest banks in Thailand to collaborate in the fintech field,” Indra noted.
Traveloka, which has a smaller local competitor, is also in talks with potential partners in Vietnam, but Indra declined to give his name. [kontan.co.id/photo special]
