Google Invests In Indonesian E-Commerce Unicorn, Joins Singapore Government, SoftBank, Alibaba

Alphabet Inc’s GOOGL Google unit has invested in Indonesian e-commerce giant Tokopedia, according to a Nikkei Asia report.

What Happened: The tech giant now owns 1.6% of Tokopedia, valued at $1.1 million (16.7 billion rupiah) Singapore’s government investment company Temasek also invested in Tokopedia. Temasek now has a 3.3% stake, valued at $2.4 million (33.4 billion rupiah).

The numbers are not the actual capital paid by the companies because the investments could have come in separate tranches, Nikkei reports.

According to Bloomberg, Tokopedia is one of the “most valuable startups in Indonesia” and is also backed by SoftBank Group SFTBY, which is the biggest investor, holding a 33.9% stake. Alibaba Group BABA is another major investor, with 28.3%.

Why It Matters: The investments mark growing interest in Asian startups, as room to grow in the U.S. and Europe gets harder to come by.

Google’s investment news follows Microsoft Corporation's MSFT announcement that it would buy a stake in Tokopedia's rival, Bukalapak.

Google itself has previously invested in another Indonesian unicorn –– app provider Gojek.

Price Action: Alphabet Inc Class A shares traded 0.015% lower, at $1,772, in the after-hours market, while Alphabet Inc Class C traded at $1,777 with a 0.012% gain.