Grab, Southeast Asia’s first decacorn known for its ride-hailing service, is set to strengthen its presence in the financial technology industry as it raised more than $300 million in an investment round led by Hanwha Asset Management, South Korea’s leading comprehensive asset management firm.
Grab Holdings’ FinTech arm, called Grab Financial Group, was launched in 2018 with the goal of improving access to financial services for consumers across Southeast Asia. The subsidiary has five main services: GrabPay, GrabFinance, GrabInsure, GrabInvest, and GrabRewards.
This is the first time for Grab’s FinTech arm to secure money from new investors. The new investment in Grab Financial Group is substantial, but Grab Holdings Inc. continues to own the majority stake in the subsidiary.
Industry observers suggest that this new development may mean that Grab Financial Group will separate from its parent company in light of the Grab-Gojek merger speculations. It may go public as an independent business entity. However, there have been no public talks that would affirm this possibility, let alone details of a plan for an initial public offering (IPO).
Grab has yet to release an official statement regarding the matter. Company representatives declined to respond to inquiries from TechNode Global regarding said speculations–the company has been mum on the reports of its possible merger with Gojek.
No other details regarding the significant capital infusion is available. As of press time, only The Information has the most detailed reportage on it, citing a source who is said to be knowledgeable about the transaction.
Grab Financial Group’s seemingly discreet fundraising appears to be piquing curiosities over the potential merger between Grab Holdings and its Indonesian competitor Gojek. The former is reportedly seeking to assert stronger control over the possible merged business. A Nikkei Asia report claims that there has been a request for Anthony Tan, Grab’s Chief Executive Officer, to become the “CEO-for-Life” of the surviving business in the proposed merger with Gojek.
The $15 billion Singapore-based multinational giant may appear to be in a good position to negotiate for a more favorable merger deal after the company reported that its 2020 net revenue rose year-on-year by 70 percent and that it had achieved segment breakeven for its ride-hailing operations. Meanwhile, Gojek revealed that its gross transaction value increased by 10 percent in 2020, but it suffered a $17 million impairment loss over Pathao investment.
However, Grab is expected to be unprofitable for the next three years. According to credit rating agency Moody’s, this is partly because of the company’s decision to continue spending in its financial services venture.
Grab is apparently keen on moving forward with its FinTech push with greater effort and resources. It can be recalled that in early December last year, a partnership between Grab Holdings and Singtel to establish a digital bank, became one of the first digital banks in Singapore as it earned the nod of the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS).
It remains to be seen whether or not Grab holds on to its FinTech arm if it manages to close the deal for a merger with Gojek. Interestingly, there are reports that Gojek is already in advanced discussions for a merger with Tokopedia, an Indonesian company that specializes in e-commerce.