Southeast Asian Ride-Hailing Giant Grab Investing $2B In Indonesia

Japanese investor SoftBank will invest $2 billion over five years in the Southeast Asian ride-hailing firm Grab.

A next-generation transportation network is planned, along with an overhaul of how medical care and other essential services are delivered, Grab said on Monday (July 29) in a statement to Reuters.

“SoftBank will invest the $2 billion into the country through Grab to drive the digitization of crucial services and infrastructure,” said Grab, which is headquartered in Singapore.

SoftBank Chief Executive Masayoshi Son announced that his company was investing $2 billion in Grab but didn’t clarify if it was new funds, Reuters said. Grab recently raised $3 billion from SoftBank. 

The Japanese investment firm is also assisting Grab in building a second headquarters in Jakarta, the capital of Indonesia, Son said.

Grab raised more than $4.5 billion in March in a round of funding led by SoftBank‘s Vision Fund. SoftBank said it was the world’s largest investor in ridesharing companies with 90 percent of the market, including shares in Didi Chuxing, Grab and Ola in India.

Grab Chief Executive Anthony Tan has previously said the company expects to raise $6.5 billion of total capital this year. He said Grab has also collaborated with SoftBank portfolio companies, which is helping it with its expansion efforts. 

Since launching about seven years ago, Grab has raised around $8 billion. Other investors include Microsoft, Hyundai Motor and Toyota Motor.

While Grab is still the leading player in the ride-hailing market in Southeast Asia, it is facing intense competition from the likes of Go-Jek, which has the backing of Google, Tencent, and Temasek.

Softbank’s Saudi-backed $100 billion Vision Fund dominates funding for late-stage startups and recently launched a $5 billion Latin American-focused fund in March with $1 billion earmarked for the delivery app Rappi.