Ryde, a ride-booking and ride-hailing platform based in Singapore, has appointed SAC Capital as its financial adviser to lead preparations for an initial public offering on the Singapore Exchange next year.
The company seeks a valuation of S$200 million (US$149 million) through a listing on Catalist, SGX’s sponsor-supervised listing venue for fast-growing local enterprises. According to a company statement, its top drivers will receive bonuses and shares upon the completion of its IPO.
“We aim to be the first profitable ride-hailing technology company to list on the SGX. We have engaged SAC in this exercise in view of their expertise in the Singapore markets,” says Ryde founder and chief executive officer Terence Zou.
“A significant portion of the IPO proceeds will be invested in technology, product development and enhancing our operations. We intend to recruit 100 more staff in engineering, design, operations and digital marketing over the next three years to enhance our capabilities,” Zou adds.
Ryde turned profitable in the fourth quarter of 2020 as gross transaction value (GTV) increased four times during the pandemic. It aims to capture 30% of the country’s ride-hailing market by 2023.
The number of users on its platform grew over 30% year-on-year last year. Its network has over 10,000 monthly active drivers.
It has facilitated over 16 million bookings, and its app has been downloaded close to 700,000 times. It targets a GTV of S$120 million from both ride-hailing and delivery verticals this year.
The company is also looking to grow its point-to-point parcel delivery service RydeSEND, which promises to send a package to anyone in the city state in 50 minutes. The platform allows users to pay with Bitcoin.