Ninja Van raises at least $274m in new funding

Zamrud, Brunei’s state fund, has taken a significant stake in the company. Other new investors include US VC firm Carmenta Capital Management, Bangkok Bank, Thai telco Intouch Holdings, and GxH Investments, a partnership between Singapore’s Golden Gate Ventures and South Korea’s Hanwha Asset Management.

Existing investors like European logistics major Geopost and B Capital, the venture capital firm started by Facebook co-founder Eduardo Saverin, have also made further investments since the series C round. Ninja Van declined to comment.

The funding comes amid a crucial period for the e-commerce industry, which is proving resilient amid Covid-19 compared to other sectors like travel.

Covid-19 has slowed down e-commerce supply chains. At the same time, it has led to increased demand for certain shopping categories while hurting others.

“Thankfully, Ninja Van is not badly affected by this. Yes, our costs have gone up. Yes, productivity has gone down significantly. But online shopping is going to grow,” Changwen Lai, co-founder and CEO of the company, said in another interview.

Ecommerce logistics remains competitive in Southeast Asia. In Indonesia alone, Ninja Van competes with JNE, J&T Express, and many others.

Besides its domestic delivery service, Ninja Van also runs Ninja Direct, which helps online sellers, source, purchase, ship, and finance wholesale products. In Malaysia, it has launched a business-to-business logistics arm.

Source: TechInAsia