Grab CEO's epiphany at 30,000 feet: taking down an Uber Goliath

Singapore

IT was on a late July flight home to Singapore when Anthony Tan grasped the potential calamity in the news that his biggest ally, Didi Chuxing, was about to buy out arch-rival Uber's Chinese business.

The stunned Grab co-founder knew better than to celebrate the vanquishing of an enemy. Unfettered by a costly battle for China, the world's most valuable startup would now pivot to his South-east Asian backyard. And with Didi and Uber Technologies Inc taking stakes in each other, it spelled trouble for a global alliance forged to keep the US ride-hailing giant in check.