Grab in $2.5bn South East Asian expansion

Grab, Uber Technologies’ biggest ride-hailing competitor in South East Asia, said it expects to raise US$2.5 billion in its latest financing round that will help to bolster its leading position in the region and grow its payments platform. The Chinese peer Didi Chuxing and Japan’s SoftBank Group, both of which are existing investors, will invest up to $2bn to lead the current financing round, it said yesterday. Grab expects to raise an additional $500 million, bringing the total to $2.5bn in this round, which it said would be the largest-ever single financing in South East Asia.