Temasek, Google in talks to fund Indonesia's Tokopedia

The e-commerce firm has previously held talks with US internet giants.

Google and Temasek are in negotiations to join a funding round of between $696.4m (US$500m) and $1.39b (US$1b) for Indonesian e-commerce giant Tokopedia, Bloomberg reported according to people familiar with the matter.

Tokopedia, the online marketplace backed by SoftBank Group’s Vision Fund, has held talks with US internet giants, including Facebook, Microsoft and Amazon.com, the sources said. But Google and Temasek have been more active in their negotiations and those talks may conclude in the coming weeks, they said, asking not to be identified.

America’s largest internet corporations have looked increasingly toward Asia as growth in the US and Europe slows, seeking to tap the region’s rapidly growing smartphone-savvy population. Facebook is buying a stake in India’s Jio Platforms, whilst its WhatsApp unit struck a deal last month to invest in ride-hailing and food delivery giant Gojek.

Read more from Bloomberg.