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When scouting for players to sign on Football Manager, a simulation game that I play, my scouts will sometimes report that a player has great potential and good stats across the board but will strongly recommend against making a move for him anyway.
That’s when I take a look at his character traits and see that he’s got an unambitious personality or that he struggles to perform in big matches. After all, the ability to perform under pressure can make or break a footballer’s career.
Grab, after making its long-awaited public debut last week, is now facing some pressure of its own. The super app ended its first trading day with its share price down over 20%. Today’s premium article looks at what could come next for the Southeast Asian tech giant.
Today, we look at:
- Is it up or down next for Grab’s share price?
- The series C round of a South Korean online lending startup
- Other newsy highlights such as some changes among the Alibaba bigwigs and the universal dreams of a Japanese spacetech firm
Premium summary
Keep on truckin’?
Image credit: Timmy Loen
Have you ever wanted to try something new but then stumble into a face-plant? Well, tough as it can be, all we can do is try and power through.
And, of course, that’s what Grab is going to do after a middling open to its life on the public markets.
- The sitrep: At the end of this week, Grab will have around 29.2% of its outstanding share capital, or about US$11 billion worth of stock, available for public trading. But here’s the kicker: Another 2.6 billion shares, worth roughly US$23 billion based on recent stock prices, will be released to the public by June.
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Sword of Damocles? The release of the additional stock will likely put downward pressure on Grab’s market performance, analysts say. “That is huge and will act as an overhang on the stock price,” Brian Freitas, an analyst with Smartkarma, told Tech in Asia.
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Riding on riding: If Grab can prove that its earnings are resilient despite the challenges faced by its mobility business, that will be one driver to push its share price up in the near term.
When a lending company gets investment, is it borrowing cash?
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