Destination IPO, Thailand's aCommerce rides on Covid digitisation demand

E-commerce enabler aCommerce was in the right place at the right time during the Covid-19 pandemic as online sales accelerated. Now it aspires to become Thailand’s first startup IPO

Despite a strong economy, Thailand has no billion-dollar startups and no major exits

aCommerce, now profitable, aims to raise US$200 million through a public listing in 2021

Private equity investors including KKR’s Emerald Media fund have prepared it for public life

But there’s increasing competition and aCommerce’s key technology play is in its early days

With nearly US$140 million in funding, one of Thailand’s most prominent startups, aCommerce, is sitting pretty. While other companies reel from the Covid pandemic, aCommerce’s quarter has improved due to it. CEO Paul Srivorakul—one of the three Srivorakul brothers leading the company—claims aCommerce has seen an overall profitable quarter.

Put simply, aCommerce is an ‘e-commerce enabler’. The seven-year-old company provides services and software to help brands like Samsung and L’Oréal develop their e-commerce businesses—specifically, in web store design, distribution, marketing, warehousing, and delivery. And with the pandemic pushing even traditional businesses to develop an online footprint, retailers have come to embrace the services aCommerce offers.

AUTHOR

Jon Russell

Jon Russell is Southeast Asia editor for The Ken based in Bangkok. Originally from the UK, Jon moved to Thailand in 2008. He’s passionate about telling thoughtful business stories, and tracking the impact of the internet in his adopted home of Southeast Asia.

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