INSUBCONTINENT EXCLUSIVE:
Fresh from a strategic investment from Microsoft, Southeast Asia ride-hailing leader Grab is back in the money again after it closed $200
million in fresh capital from Booking Holdings, the travel firm formerly known as Priceline.
The investment is part of an ongoing round of
funding that Grab said is on course to reach $3 billion before the end of the year
Grab raised $2 billion for the round — including a $1 billion check from Totoya — but it continues to add strategic partners, like
Grab — which bought Uber regional business in Marchand is present in eight countries —is valued at $11 billion and we understand that
hasn&t changed with this round.
The deal — which mimics Booking recent $500 million investment in China Didi — will lead to the two
companies team up to offer reciprocal services
That&ll see Grab transportation services integrated into Booking apps and services with support for Grab Pay
On the other side, Grab said that Booking travel accommodation services will come to its app sometime in 2019, although Grab customers in
&multiple markets& will get rewards and offers in the app before the end of this year.
Besides Booking.com and Agoda, Booking also operates
Kayak, Priceline.com, Rentacars.com and OpenTable
The firm rebranded from Priceline in February 2018.
The tie-in makes sense on both sides
Ride-hailing services are a prime channel for travel companies — Didi and Grab both dominate their respective markets, Grab claims over
110 million downloads — while the idea of pre-ordering a Grab to meet you after a flight has landed, or having one take you to your hotel
will be logical for many.
Grab started out offering taxis, but it has since expanded to private car vehicles, motorbikes and a range of
non-transportation services that include payments and food delivery
In addition, the company opened its platform to third-parties this summer in an effort to develop a ‘super app& for Southeast Asia rapidly
growing internet population, which is already larger than the entire U.S
population.
It hasn&t all been plain-sailing for Grab in its post-Uber world
Both Uber and Grab were fined a collective $9.5 million by Singapore watchdog for the merger — they got a lighter rap on the knuckles in
the Philippines — while some users have complained about a bloated app, inferior service quality and higher fees in recent months
Grab disputes the latter claim that it has increased prices, but it has pledged to do better by its customers.
Grab chief rival is Indonesia
Go-Jek, which is said to be raising $2 billion more to support a regional expansion plan
Go-Jek has already moved into Vietnam and Thailand, while this week it opened sign-ups for drivers in Singapore.
Southeast Asia Grab
partners with MasterCard to offer prepaid cards
