Grab secures US$1.46b investment from SoftBank Vision Fund; eyes growth in Indonesia

RIDE-HAILING firm Grab has secured US$1.46 billion of fresh funding from the SoftBank Vision Fund, bringing the total investment in its latest financing round to over US$4.5 billion.

Other investors in this Series H round include Toyota Motor Corporation, Oppenheimer Funds, Hyundai Motor Group, Booking Holdings, Microsoft Corporation, Ping An Capital and Yamaha Motor.

Grab's president Ming Maa noted that there has been "strong interest" both in terms of capital invested and the quality of strategic partners seeking to support the company's development.

"We continue to receive new investor interest, and look forward to welcoming more global industry leaders as partners in 2019," added Mr Maa.

Grab intends to use the funds to advance its "super app" vision in South-east Asia, with the aim of bringing more services and greater convenience to its users, the company said in a press statement on Wednesday.

David Thevenon, partner at SoftBank Investment Advisers, said the investment will help Grab explore new opportunities across on-demand mobility, delivery and financial services, as it continues to grow its offline-to-online platform across South-east Asia.

Grab is now looking to rollout on its open platform, services including on-demand video in partnership with HOOQ, digital healthcare in partnership with Ping An Good Doctor, insurance in partnership with ZhongAn International, and hotel bookings in partnership with Booking Holdings.

In particular, the company plans to invest a significant portion of its proceeds in Indonesia, which is also home to rival firm Gojek.

According to Grab, its Indonesian business is expanding rapidly, with revenue more than doubling in 2018. The company will use the fresh capital to boost the expansion of GrabFood and GrabExpress, and roll out new verticals in the country, it added.

As a group, Grab's transport business has grown since its merger with Uber in South-east Asia, almost doubling its revenue from March 2018 to December 2018, the company said.