Grab shares dip over 20% on Nasdaq debut despite strong opening

Update (Dec. 3, 6:00 a.m. SGT): This article was updated to include Grab’s share price at the end of its first trading day.

Shares of Grab, one of Southeast Asia’s most valuable startups, fell in the opening day of its US public listing after it raised US$4 billion through a merger with Altimeter, a special purpose acquisition company (SPAC).

Photo credit: Grab

Grab’s shares dipped 20.5% when the market closed at 4:oo p.m. EST (5:00 a.m. SGT) and were trading at US$8.75 apiece. This came after a strong opening, where the super app’s shares were up over 19% to trade at a price of US$13.15 apiece on the Nasdaq.

A successful listing for Grab is expected to set the tone for other IPO-bound Southeast Asian tech giants. For instance, when Jakarta-based ecommerce player Bukalapak went public in August, its shares climbed 25%, triggering the Indonesian bourse’s automatic rejection system.

See also: Grab’s financial health in 8 charts

“Today, we shine a spotlight on Southeast Asia and how its homegrown tech companies are powering new possibilities for the region’s 660 million people,” said co-founder and group CEO Anthony Tan at the bell-ringing ceremony. This was the first time that New York-based Nasdaq held an opening bell ceremony in Southeast Asia.

“From a single country taxi-hailing app, Grab is now a leading super app enabling consumers to eat, ride, and pay in eight countries in over 400 cities,” Tan added.

Photo credit: Tech in Asia

Grab’s SPAC deal, which values the firm at roughly US$40 billion, includes a US$4 billion private investment in public equity from investors such as Fidelity International and Janus Henderson. It will pump about US$4.5 billion into Grab in cash proceeds.

See also: Grab’s position in SEA’s startup landscape

Earlier this month, Grab posted a revenue of US$157 million for the third quarter of 2021, down 9% from a year earlier. The company attributed much of the drop in its topline to reduced mobility in Vietnam, which enforced severe lockdowns amid the Covid-19 pandemic.

However, Tan expects a “strong recovery” in Grab’s mobility segment in the last quarter of the year, thanks to improved vaccination rates across Southeast Asia and signs of easing movement restrictions in Vietnam.