Grab raises over $850m from MUFG, TIS to expand its financial services

Southeast Asia’s ride-hailing giant Grab said today it has raised over US$850 million from investors including Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group (MUFG) and TIS. The funds will be used to develop its financial services across the region.

Japanese bank MUFG will inject up to US$706 million into Grab, while TIS, a Tokyo-based provider of networking solutions and system integration services, will invest US$150 million. MUFG’s investment was previously reported by Bloomberg.

Photo credit: Grab

Through the partnership with MUFG, Grab said that it plans to create lending, insurance, and wealth management products for Southeast Asian consumers and small businesses.

TIS and Grab, meanwhile, will collaborate on enhancing the digital payment infrastructure in Southeast Asia and Japan to enable greater adoption of cashless payment options, such as its own GrabPay wallet.

Grab established its fintech platform, Grab Financial Group, in 2018. In addition to payments and remittance with GrabPay, it also provides microlending and microinsurance services, complementing the super app’s ride-hailing and food delivery businesses. It will soon launch GrabInvest, a retail wealth management portal, following its acquisition of robo-advisor Bento earlier this month.

In recent years, Grab has partnered with a number of financial services providers, such as Mastercard, Credit Saison, Chubb, and ZhongAn. In December, it formed a consortium with Southeast Asia’s biggest telecommunications company, Singtel, to bid for a digital full bank license in Singapore.

Its archrival, Gojek, is also expanding its financial services. It recently launched GoSure to offer insurance products related to travel, motor vehicles, and mobile device protection.