[JAKARTA] GoTo Group, which was formed last year by the merger of Indonesia's 2 most valuable internet startups, plans to raise 17.9 trillion rupiah (US$1.25 billion) in an initial public offering (IPO), according to a prospectus filing.

The Jakarta-based company set a price range of 316 to 346 rupiah per share for the offering and plans to sell as many as 52 billion new Series A shares.

The company raised more than US$1.3 billion in a funding round last year ahead of the planned IPO from investors including Fidelity International and Google.

GoTo was formed by the combination of ride-hailing giant Gojek and e-commerce firm PT Tokopedia. It is proceeding with its IPO plans despite tumult in global markets, including a sharp decline in tech stocks from the US to China to South-east Asia.

Andre Soelistyo, GoTo's chief executive officer, said last year that Indonesia and the rest of South-east Asia offer some of the most promising growth markets in the world. The pre-IPO fundraising showed that global investors have confidence "in the region's rapidly expanding digital economy and our market-leading position", he added.

The company has said it plans to list shares in Indonesia and in the US. Among its competitors in South-east Asia are Sea and Grab. BLOOMBERG

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