KONTAN.CO.ID - ​JAKARTA. Shares in Indonesia's first listed tech unicorn, PT Bukalapak.com, surged 25% on their market debut on Friday as investors scrambled to get a piece of the country's fourth-largest e-commerce company in a booming sector.

Bukalapak shares rose to 1,060 rupiah ($0.0738) after reaching the 25% limit, with tens of thousands of investors buying shares on online platforms such as Ajaib and Stockbit, after the firm raised $1.5 billion in Indonesia's biggest IPO, valuing it at $6 billion.

"This event will create a snowballing effect and show the path for more Indonesia listings," said Willson Cuaca, a co-founder and managing partner at East Ventures, an Indonesia-focused venture capital firm.

Baca Juga: Bukalapak, Indonesia's biggest IPO, up 25% in blockbuster debut

The listing by the decade-old e-commerce platform, whose backers include Ant Group and Singapore sovereign fund GIC, has fuelled excitement in the thriving startup community, in a region that is home to over 400 million internet users.

The IPO comes as Indonesia's $40 billion e-commerce market is getting a boost from stay-at-home consumers and a shift by more businesses to sell online in the pandemic.

Investor interest is also running high ahead of a planned multibillion-dollar IPO by GoTo, Indonesia's most valuable startup formed through the merger of ride-hailing and food delivery firm Gojek and e-commerce leader Tokopedia.

"We initially ran a non-deal roadshow for 10 days in a row and I was literally having 11-12 meetings every day from 8 till 11 at night and these had to get extended as there was so much more interest," Bukalapak's president, Teddy Oetomo, a former banker, told Reuters in an interview.

The stellar debut pushed Bukalapak's market value to $7.5 billion, placing it among Indonesia's top 15 most valued companies.

The e-commerce firm, which also counts local media and conglomerate Emtek Group and Microsoft among its backers, reported a 26% rise in revenue to $96 million in 2020, up 26% on the year. Registered users stood at 105 million.

Editor: Yudho Winarto