Southeast Asian tech unicorn Grab has just announced that it has raised $2 billion via term loan facility from undisclosed institutional investors. The tech giant plans to use the facility to “strengthen its liquidity” and “diversify its financing sources.”

The term loan is structured as a five-year term loan B that was upscaled from its initial principal amount of $750 million. Grab’s press release also noted that the interest margin rate was lowered by 100 basis points from its former rate, 450 basis points above LIBOR.

It also announced that Moody’s Investor Services and S&P Global Ratings issued to Grab ratings of B3 and B-, respectively. This makes Grab the first independently-rated tech company in Southeast Asia.

Grab plans to use the loan to strengthen its position as the leading super app in Southeast Asia. The loan will allow it to do two things, according to Grab’s statement:

• Strengthen its liquidity – The proceeds from the term loan will further enhance Grab’s well capitalized position, and support its healthy trajectory, as it continues to strengthen its super app ecosystem to support Southeast Asia’s daily essential consumer needs.
• Diversify its financing sources – Since its founding, Grab has enjoyed significant support from its shareholders. The term loan facility will help broaden Grab’s sources of financing and establish a long-term, diversified capital structure.

Southeast Asian startups have been working to become formidable competitors to Grab. Indonesian unicorn Gojek has recently secured $150 million through a deal with Indonesian telecom operator Telkomsel and plans to use this fund to expand its operations outside of Indonesia.

With tech companies seeing an even larger boom in its industry after 2020, Reuters has reported that Grab has plans for a US IPO sometime this year. The company has also announced that its fintech arm has raised over $300 million in a Series A funding round led by South Korean Hanwha Asset Management, K3 Ventures, GGV Capital, Arbor Ventures, and Flourish Ventures. Grab has also recently announced that the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) has given Grab, in partnership with Singtel, a license for digital banking in Singapore.

CEO and Co-Founder of Grab Anthony Tan said, “I am deeply encouraged by the trust placed in us by investors who believe in our mission and recognise the value of our super app platform, as we continue making consistent progress in achieving our growth and sustainability milestones. With their support, we will invest in building a long-lasting, multi-local services business, so that millions of Southeast Asians can support their families and improve their lives with our everyday services.”

JP Morgan acted as lead bookrunner for the loan, with Barclays, Deutsche Bank, HSBC, Mizuho, MUFG, and Standard Chartered as joint bookrunners.