BENDERRAnews, 10/9/18 (Singapore): Grab is aiming to raise another $1 billion by 2018-end, according to a report by FinanceAsia. This comes shortly after the Southeast Asian ride-hailing major pocketed $2 billion from investors including Toyota and OppenheimerFunds.
According to the report, Grab president Ming Maa said that Grab is counting on its massive consumer database to further drive up valuations. The six-year-old startup is said to be worth as much as $10 billion.
Maa also added that the rarity of the company’s consumer dataset is the key to revving up Grab’s valuations. Unlike the US and Europe, consumer data in Southeast Asia remains fuzzy, especially in emerging markets.
“In Southeast Asia, the reason the value of our data is amplified is because there is no alternative, there are no available data sets to begin with. That’s the shocking part of the opportunity,” said Maa.
Getting more profitable
Maa said that the company is on a “crystal clear” path to profitability as various business units mature and margins improve. Grab’s transport business unit is already profitable in some Southeast Asian markets.
“Investors see value in that duality. Your maturing businesses are getting more profitable, and at the same time there are emerging markets and opportunities they want us to get into,” said Maa.
Grab has been unveiling several new projects of late. Last week, Grab launched Grab Ventures in Indonesia, setting aside $250 million to invest in local startups.
Grab also launched GrabAds to help brands build online and offline ads across their vehicle fleet and mobile app. Grab has also added Ping An Good Doctor to its growing list of partners to provide a new service – online healthcare – to its consumers.
Moves into Indonesia
All three projects were launched in August alone. Grab has also been explicit in its moves into Indonesia, a core market for its direct competitor Go-Jek.
This comes at a time as Go-Jek prepares to advance its business beyond its shores. In May, Go-Jek said it would invest $500 million to enter Vietnam, Singapore, Thailand and Philippines. Go-Jek has over 900,000 registered drivers in Indonesia. Grab, meanwhile, claims to secure 65 per cent of the Indonesian ride-hailing market.
Both companies announced their respective venture capital arms in August as well. Go-Jek is also likely to make a foray into e-commerce, which if successful, will strengthen its foothold in the Indonesian market. According to an exclusive report by DEALSTREETASIA, three executives involved in the discussions revealed that Go-Jek is in talks with Chinese e-commerce giant JD.com to acquire a stake in its finance operations in Indonesia. That according to www.dealstreetasia.com report. (B-DS/jr)
