- NusaTrip Inc acquires first IATA-licensed travel agency out of Indonesia;creates beginnings of regional online travel platform in SEA
- The acquisition of Vietnam International Travel and Service JSC onboards approximately US$2 million of in GMV to NusaTrip Revenue Base
NusaTrip Inc (NusaTrip), the online retail arm of Society Pass Incorporated (SoPa) (Nasdaq: SOPA), Southeast Asia’s (SEA) next generation, data-driven, loyalty, fintech and e-commerce ecosystem, today announces that it has acquired Vietnam International Travel and Service JSC (VIT), a IATA-licensed, full-service travel agency focused on marketing to the Vietnam inbound and outbound segments.
NusaTrip previously acquired VLeisure, Vietnam’s leading provider of hotel management and payment solutions, in April 2023. Patrick Soetanto, NusaTrip CEO, comments on the acquisition, “VIT is the first IATA-licensed travel acquisition we have made outside of Indonesia. Our business plan calls for acquisitions of other IATA-licensed travel agencies throughout Asia Pacific in 2023, including Philippines, Thailand, Singapore, Malaysia, Hong Kong, China, India and UAE, as we position NusaTrip to be the premier travel hub in SEA. According to Phocuswright, gross bookings in SEA by 2025 will reach 94% of the record 2019 level and digital transformation will accelerate rapidly across SEA, with online bookings more than doubling between 2022 and 2025. Effectively, the region has reverted back to pre-pandemic levels. We are growing NusaTrip at the opportune time.”
Founded in Vietnam since 2016, VIT operates inbound and outbound ticketing businesses targeted at corporate and travel tour segments. Nguyen Ngoc Minh, Founder and Managing Director of VIT, explains his rationale for selling to NusaTrip, “SoPa and NusaTrip are known leaders in the SEA and Vietnamese e-commerce and travel sectors. I am proud to sell VIT to NusaTrip as I know NusaTrip will greatly expand VIT’s business here in Vietnam. I wish both SoPa and NusaTrip the best luck going forward.”
Le Phan, NusaTrip Managing Director and VLeisure Founder, adds, “I am especially excited about this acquisition as it will only add to the breadth and depth of NusaTrip and VLeisure’s product offering in Vietnam. Statista projects the Vietnam travel market to reach US$3.0 billion in 2023. Total market size is expected to reach US$4.2 billion by 2027, reflecting an annual growth rate of 8.8%. We intend to leverage VIT’s strong presence in the corporate and tour markets here in Vietnam to drive strong revenue growth for NusaTrip in 2023.”
The Vietnam economy is the 5th largest in SEA and 34th largest in the world with a 2023 nominal gross domestic product of US$449 billion. The World Bank forecasts Vietnam’s economy to grow by 6.3 percent and 6.4% in 2023 and 2024, respectively, after a robust 8 percent in 2022.
About Society Pass Inc.
Founded in 2018 as a data-driven loyalty, fintech and e-commerce ecosystem in the fast-growing markets of Vietnam, Indonesia, Philippines, Singapore and Thailand, which account for more than 80% of the SEA population, and with offices located in Angeles, Bangkok, Ho Chi Minh City, Jakarta, Manila, and Singapore, Society Pass Incorporated (Nasdaq: SOPA) is an acquisition-focused holding company operating 6 interconnected verticals (loyalty, digital media, travel, telecoms, lifestyle, and F&B), which seamlessly connects millions of registered consumers and hundreds of thousands of registered merchants/brands across multiple product and service categories throughout SEA.
Society Pass completed an initial public offering and began trading on the Nasdaq under the ticker SOPA in November 2021.
SoPa acquires fast growing e-commerce companies and expands its user base across a robust product and service ecosystem. SoPa integrates these complementary businesses through its signature Society Pass fintech platform and circulation of its universal loyalty points or Society Points, which has entered beta testing and is expected to launch broadly at the beginning of 2023. Society Pass loyalty program members earn and redeem Society Points and receive personalised promotions based on SoPa’s data capabilities and understanding of consumer shopping behaviour. SoPa has amassed more than 3.3 million registered consumers and over 650,000 registered merchants and brands. It has invested 2+ years building proprietary IT architecture to effectively scale and support its consumers, merchants, and acquisitions.
Society Pass leverages technology to tailor a more personalised experience for customers in the purchase journey and to transform the entire retail value chain in SEA. SoPa operatesThoughtful Media Group, a Thailand-based, a social commerce-focused, premium digital video multi-platform network;NusaTrip, a leading Indonesia-based Online Travel Agency; VLeisure, Vietnam’s leading provider of hotel management and payment solutions; Gorilla Global, a Singapore-based, mobile network operator; Leflair.com, Vietnam’s leading lifestyle e-commerce platform; andPushkart.ph, a popular grocery delivery company in Philippines.
For more information on Society Pass, please visit:
Website at https://www.thesocietypass.com or
LinkedIn at https://www.linkedin.com/company/societypass or
Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/thesocietypass or
Twitter at https://twitter.com/society_pass or
Instagram at https://www.instagram.com/societypass/.
Cautionary Note Concerning Forward-Looking Statements
This press release may include “forward-looking statements,” within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended. All statements other than statements of historical fact included in this press release are forward-looking statements. When used in this press release, words such as “anticipate”, “believe”, “estimate”, “expect”, “intend” and similar expressions, as they relate to us or our management team, identify forward-looking statements. Such forward-looking statements are based on the beliefs of management, as well as assumptions made by, and information currently available to, the Company’s management. Actual results could differ materially from those contemplated by the forward-looking statements as a result of certain factors detailed in the Company’s filings with the SEC as well as anticipated sales growth in Indonesia and the growth of the Indonesian economy. All subsequent written or oral forward-looking statements attributable to us or persons acting on our behalf are qualified in their entirety by this paragraph. Forward-looking statements are subject to numerous conditions, many of which are beyond the control of the Company, including those set forth in the Risk Factors section of the Company’s registration statement and prospectus relating to the Company’s initial public offering filed with the SEC. The Company undertakes no obligation to update these statements for revisions or changes after the date of this release, except as required by law.
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Rokas Sidlauskas
Chief Marketing Officer
