Grab to hit 120 Indonesian cities after Uber acquisition

RIDE-HAILING firm Grab’s acquisition of Uber will allow the latter to expand its Indonesian operation and serve 120 cities across the nation, Grab Indonesia Managing Director Ridzki Kramadibrata said on Friday.

“We believe that the acquisition will have a positive impact on Indonesia . . . We will always cooperate with the government to further push the country forward,” Ridzki said in a statement received by the Jakarta Post.

After the acquisition was announced on March 26, about 70 percent of Uber drivers joined the Grab platform.

With more drivers joining the com- pany, Ridzki added, the ride-hailing service would be able to cut costs and work more efficiently in serving customers, which would benefit all parties involved.

“In the long run, we will become the number one online-to-offline [O2O] mobile platform that will help solve various problems, including traffic, as well as develop financial inclusion and help households increase their income,” he said.

Under Grab Indonesia’s master plan, the company will create more business opportunities through i t s planned expansions, not only in the transportation sector, but also through the expansion of other business, like GrabFood, GrabExpress, GrabPay and GrabFinancial.

Ridzki claimed 3 million Indonesians have enjoyed Grab’s digital economy through several partnerships with Kudo, PayTren and Madhang.

“Grab projects to create 100 million micro entrepreneurs in Southeast Asia by 2020,” he added.