Grab raises US$700M in debt financing; partners with Singapore’s MRT to build a fleet of eco-friendly vehicles
The on-demand transportation firm will use the investment to create the largest car rental programme in Southeast Asia
Southeast Asia’s leading on-demand transportation and mobile payments company, Grab, today announced that it has secured up to US$700 million in debt financing from unnamed global and regional banks.
This announcement comes less than 10 months after Grab closed a US$2 billion round led by Chinese ride-hailing company Didi Chuxing (DiDi) and Japanese telecom conglomerate SoftBank Group. A few months earlier, it had grabbed US$750 million in an oversubscribed round led by SoftBank.
The investment from the latest round will be used to create “the largest car rental programme in Southeast Asia” to meet the growing demand from Grab’s driver partners in the region. As of today, the company has over 1.8 million drivers in its network. a portion of the financing will be used to make more cars available for rental, provide more favourable rental terms and services for driver partners, and increase the supply of vehicles on the road.
Also Read: In its fight to secure e-money licensing, Grab halts GrabPay credit top-up feature
Additionally, Grab has announced a partnership with SMRT, Singapore’s premier multi-modal land transport provider. Under this tie-up, Grab aims to build the largest and most advanced taxi and private-hire car fleet in Singapore. The fleet will include eco-friendly hybrid and fully electric vehicles.
As per the agreement, Grab will have exclusive access to SMRT’s current and future taxi and private car fleet management capabilities, in addition to its entire network of taxis and Strides private-hire cars. Grab’s driver partners who rent vehicles through its car rental business, GrabRentals, will enjoy competitive vehicle rental and maintenance rates, have access to the most advanced commercial vehicles, and benefit from SMRT’s fleet management capabilities.
Lim Kell Jay, Head of Grab Singapore, said: “Grab is on track to build Singapore’s largest and most advanced commercial fleet. We continue to collaborate to complement and strengthen each other’s transportation network. Ultimately, we want to provide affordable services for driver-partners and passengers, and serve all segments of society including public transport users.”
Also Read: Grab partners Singapore Airlines to dole out frequent flyer miles
Grab is Southeast Asia’s leading on-demand transportation and mobile payments platform. Grab offers private car, motorbike, taxi, and carpooling services across seven countries and 132 cities in Southeast Asia. With over 3 million daily rides, the app has registered 63 million downloads till date. It also offers a mobile payments platform GrabPay.
In Indonesia, Grab’s network of 500,000 agents is helping the unbanked and underbanked utilise GrabPay’s platform to participate in the digital revolution.
Grab currently offers services in Singapore, Indonesia, the Philippines, Malaysia, Thailand, Vietnam and Myanmar.
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