Indonesia-based ride-hailing giant Gojek has acquired a majority stake in Vietnam-based fintech startup WePay, according to DealStreetAsia.
Through the deal to acquire WePay, Gojek reportedly expects to secure an ewallet licence and also expand its footprint in the country.
“We are always looking for opportunities to partner with innovative Vietnamese businesses as a means to enhance experience for users. We are working with WePay but we are not disclosing any details at this stage. When we have further updates to share, we’ll do so in due course,” Gojek spokesperson was cited on e27 news website.
Gojek Vietnam’s manager Phung Tuan Duc has been appointed as the chief executive officer of WePay after the transaction.
Gojek launched it subsidiary GoViet in Vietnam in 2018.
Over the years, Gojek has made a number of acquisitions such as Coins.ph, Moka, Kartuku, Pluang, Midtrans and PonselPay.
Earlier this year, Gojek launched its online investment platform GoInvestasi, with a particular focus on gold.
GoInvestasi was launched in partnership with local fintech firm Pluang, which offers digital gold investment.
According to the company, GoInvestasi allows users to buy and sell gold easily by completing a few simple steps.
In the month of April, Gojek purchased the point-of-sale (POS) and payments aggregator Moka in a deal which is estimated to be worth $130 million. The acquisition will help Gojek establish itself as a major player in Indonesia’s digital payments space.
Since the start of the coronavirus pandemic, Gojek’s primary ride-hailing business has taken a severe hit. To deal with the crisis, Gojek let go around 9 percent of its workforce in Indonesia.