Why are Google and Amazon investing in Indonesia’s tech unicorns? Because Alibaba and Tencent are too
The US tech giants have made inroads into the Southeast Asian nation this year, joining companies from China in vying for the lucrative regional market
The American firms are seen as cautious, mostly targeting heavily funded tech companies, while Chinese investors are viewed as more willing to take risks
Southeast Asia is increasingly becoming a battleground for tech giants from the United States and China vying for investment opportunities in the region, amid slow growth in the West and heightened political tensions between Washington and Beijing.
At the centre of their battle is Indonesia, the region’s largest digital market. This year, four American tech juggernauts – Google, Microsoft, Facebook and PayPal – have invested in the country’s unicorns, or private tech firms valued at over US$1 billion, and the trend is not expected to abate any time soon, analysts say.