[SINGAPORE] Bangladesh's Pathao, a ride-hailing firm backed by Indonesia's Gojek, is seeking to raise up to US$50 million in its latest funding round to add more services such as payments and expand its food delivery business, its senior executives said.

The company, which was established in 2015 as an e-commerce logistics provider, has since expanded into food delivery and ride-hailing for motorbikes and cars.

"We are looking to raise around US$40-50 million," Pardeep Grewal, Pathao's chief operating officer, said in an interview in Singapore on Wednesday. The latest round is expected to close in the first half of this year.

Pathao wants to add cycle rickshaws and allow users to shop online through the platform as part of its bid to grow as a super-app, similar to strategies of China's Tencent, Singapore's Grab and Gojek.

The company has raised about US$35 million since inception.

Besides local firms, it competes with Uber Technologies Inc in the South Asian nation, which has a population of more than 160 million people and is named by the World Bank as among the world's five fastest-growing economies. Pathao recently expanded to Kathmandu, Nepal. 

REUTERS