Japanese seek new markets with $850m for Grab start-up

Grab, Southeast Asia’s most valuable start-up, raised more than $850m from Japan’s Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group and TIS to bankroll its expansion into financial services in the region.

The sum includes $706m from MUFG, Japan’s largest bank, and $150m from TIS, a provider of data centre and cloud services, according to joint statements from the companies.

Backed by SoftBank Group, Grab has been expanding into financial services, building on its ride-hailing, food delivery and e-wallet offerings in an effort to become a one-stop shop for ondemand services in Southeast Asia. Tie-ups between tech start-ups and banks are becoming more common in the region, where widespread smartphone use promises greater access to clients who have traditionally been neglected by the financial system.

Grab will co-develop financial products and solutions with the two investors, president Ming Maa said in a statement.

WEAK GROWTH

The investments demonstrate “their confidence in Grab’s super-app strategy and our ability to build a sustainable long-term business”, he said.

For Tokyo-based MUFG, the alliance will deepen its expansion in Southeast Asia, where it has been buying large stakes in banks to make up for weak growth opportunities at home.

The lender’s biggest investment in a tech start-up also reflects its digital push under Hironori Kamezawa, who is set to become CEO in April. “We are excited to be able to provide customers with next-generation financial services by combining Grab’s advanced technologies and data management expertise with our financial knowledge and know-how,” said Kamezawa, who is now chief digital transformation officer.

Grab will give “first-choice bank” status to MUFG and its Southeast Asian units, including

PT Bank Danamon Indonesia and Bank of Ayudhya.

While the start-up does no’t disclose its number of users, it says its app has been downloaded onto more than 166-million devices in the region.

The partners will jointly develop a new “scoring model” for lending by using data on each other’s customers, Masakazu Osawa, a senior official involved in MUFG’s digital transformation, said on a call with reporters. The data sharing would require the customer’s consent, he added.

Under Grab’s deal with Tokyo-based TIS, the companies will work together on digital payments infrastructure in Southeast Asia and Japan to enable better adoption of cashless options, the firms said in a separate statement.

GRAB HAS BEEN EXPANDING INTO FINANCIAL SERVICES, BUILDING ON ITS RIDE-HAILING, FOOD DELIVERY AND E-WALLET OFFERINGS