Grab to raise another $2 billion

Grab plans to raise another US$2 billion from strategic investors this year, the company announced today. Once completed, it would bring the haul this year to US$6.5 billion.

“I met Masayoshi-san last week where he gave his unlimited support to power our growth,” said CEO Anthony Tan.

“The support from strategic investors like SoftBank and others will allow us to grow very aggressively this year across our verticals of payments, transport, and food. At our current growth rates, we expect to be four times bigger than our closest competitor in Indonesia and across the region by the end of the year,” he added, referring to Go-Jek.

Photo credit: Grab

The funding will be a mix of debt and equity, Tan told Reuters.

Ming Maa, president of Grab, adds that it expects to make at least six investments or acquisitions this year. “Indonesia, in particular, will see us invest a significant portion of fresh proceeds,” Maa said.

Grab’s Indonesian business doubled its revenue in 2018.  Grab has 62 percent of Indonesia’s ride-hailing market, claims ABI Research. Grab claims that its food delivery volumes grew almost 10 times in 2018.

See: After 10x growth last year, food delivery will be Grab’s main battlefront in 2019