Shopee’s Parent Company Officially Acquires BKE Bank

Shopee’s e-commerce parent company, Sea Group, is reportedly waiting for the approval of the Financial Services Authority (OJK) to control the Economic Welfare Bank (BKE). The news came at a time when this technology giant obtained a digital bank license in Singapore.

Sea Group acquired BKE through a subsidiary, Turbo Cash Hong Kong Limited. This Hong Kong-based corporation owns BKE shares through PT Danadipa Artha Indonesia, a company officially listed as the majority shareholder of the bank.

Deputy Commissioner for Banking Supervision I, OJK Teguh Supangkat, still has to check regarding this news. He also did not comment on whether or not OJK asked new investors who wanted to take over the majority of bank shares above the provisions, to buy more than one bank, such as BCA.

The move is considered to accelerate the company’s ambition to establish itself as a leader in technology and financial services in Southeast Asia. Sea also raised nearly US$ 3 billion in a stock offering last month. These funds will be used for business expansion.

After developing the e-commerce business through Shopee and online games through Garena, Sea Group is targeting the digital bank business. This company also obtained a full digital bank license or DFB from the Singapore financial authority (MAS) last month (4/12/2020).

Grab Has also Obtained a Similar License

Apart from Shopee, the Grab-Singapore Telecommunications Limited (Singtel) consortium obtained a similar license. MAS estimates, online-based banks will only operate in early 2022. Quoted from Reuters, analysts assess that the presence of the license holder will have little impact on the three large local banks, namely DBS Group Holdings, Oversea-Chinese Banking Corp and United Overseas Bank.

But they can use the opportunity to expand services to other SEA markets. A month after obtaining a digital bank license, the news that Sea Group acquiring BKE is getting stronger. Mainly, after the employee recruitment announcement on the Shopee “Careers” page appeared some time ago.

They are looking for workers to be placed at SeaMoney – BKE Bank, which is part of the Sea Group. Quoted from KrAsia, the analyst with knowledge of the news said the new bank is likely to offer loans to sales partners in the Shopee ecosystem.

“For technology companies such as Shopee and Gojek, I estimate banking services can help people who are already in their ecosystem,” he said as quoted by KrAsia, last week (6/1). He gave an example, such as motor vehicle loans, housing loans.

The news of this corporate action also came when Gojek through GoPay increased its stake in Bank Jago to 22%. If these rumors are true, Sea Group is expanding its competition with Gojek. The Shopee parent launched a payment financial technology (fintech) service through ShopeePay, which is a competitor to GoPay.

Recruit ShopeeFood Drivers, Shopee to Compete with Gojek and Grab

E-commerce company Shopee has been recruiting food delivery drivers on the ShopeeFood platform in Indonesia since late last year. The parent company, Sea Group, has also provided food delivery services such as GoJek’s GoFood and Grab’s GrabFoods, in Vietnam.

Based on the official website, Shopee is looking for partners who have a valid driving license (SIM) and are at least 18 years old. Apart from that, it has all permits and approvals concerning the vehicle.

Then, do not have a criminal record in Indonesia or other jurisdictions. “You may not contact customers for purposes other than those relating to the service,” he was quoted as saying on the official Shopee website, Thursday (14/1). “You must not engage in a fraudulent, misleading or deceptive activity.”

Information regarding the recruitment is also circulating on social media. A YouTube user with the account name @BelajarBareng uploads a video regarding the requirements to become a ShopeeFood driver-partner. “Indonesian citizens, healthy, have an Android phone with at least 2 GB of RAM,” he said last month (9/12/2020).