MyTeksi set for more funding

PETALING JAYA: Homegrown Internet-based taxi booking service MyTeksi Sdn Bhd is poised for more funding deals, including a possible flotation on the stock market, signalling the increasing interest among investors to fund such companies.

Next week, MyTeksi would ink a deal to raise US$10mil (RM32.8mil), which could take the form of a loan or convertible instrument, sources said, adding that the provider of the funds could be CIMB Investment Bank Bhd.

MyTeksi already counts venture capital firm Vertex Venture Holdings Ltd as one of its initial investors. Vertex is a wholly owned subsidiary of Temasek Holdings Pte Ltd, Singapore’s state-owned investment company.

Sources said that MyTeksi could soon see another round of funding, eventually leading to a trade sale or listing.

The sources added that investors were keen on MyTeksi because of its regional presence in five countries – Malaysia, Thailand, Singapore, the Philippines and Vietnam – and its growth potential.

MyTeksi was co-founded 21 months ago by Anthony Tan (pic), a grandson of Tan Chong Motor Holdings Bhd co-founder Tan Sri Tan Yuet Foh. He is the son of Datuk Tan Heng Chew, Tan Chong’s executive deputy chairman and group managing director.

“Expect a few rounds of funding to take place over time,” said an insider.

MyTeksi was created with the aim of revitalising the taxi industry and improving the safety and efficiency of town taxis by leveraging on advancements in global positioning systems and mobile technology.

Internet applications such as MyTeksi are being made possible with the ubiquity of mobile broadband.

MyTeksi aims to be the largest on-demand taxi booking application company in South-East Asia.

Its competitors include TaxiMonger and Easy Taxi.

Easy Taxi, a mobile e-hailing application founded in Brazil, is now available in 70 countries. Easy Taxi is backed by the biggest e-commerce incubator in the world, Rocket Internet, but it also has investors that include Millicon (a Sweden-based telecommunications and media company) and iMENA (an investment firm based in Dubai and Jordan). It has raised over US$32mil (RM105mil) in backing.

But yet another notable entrant into this space is US-based Uber, into which Google has invested a massive US$258mil (RM846mil).

Dubbed as a “global on-demand private car hire firm application”, Uber has also been launched in Kuala Lumpur. It provides users with an on-demand, private and luxury car service to take them comfortably to where they need to go in 60 major cities around the world. Travellers can use the same application in any city in which Uber is operational.