YOMA Strategic Holdings has signed an agreement with ride-hailing service Grab, which will see the mainboard-listed company upgrading the fleet of taxis in Myanmar, and providing vehicle financing for Grab's drivers in the country.

The partnership with Yoma will support Grab's recently launched services, GrabTaxi Plus and Grab for Business services, as GrabTaxi drivers use better quality vehicles in the near future, Yoma said in a press statement on Monday morning. The statement noted that many of the estimated 70,000 taxis in Yangon will require upgrading to newer car models, along with better and regular maintenance.

Said Melvyn Pun, Yoma Strategic's chief executive officer: "This partnership will complement Yoma Fleet to provide vehicle rentals to Grab's driver-partners, helping to improve the quality of the vehicles, driver service and safety standards for taxis in Yangon."

Said Russell Cohen, Grab's head of regional operations: "We look forward to collaborating with Yoma Strategic to further improve transportation here and meet the growing user demand by enhancing leasing and rental car options for our valued GrabTaxi drivers across our platform."